


Wuxles to Uxles

by Bombus -Pascuorum (webslinger9_5am)



Series: The Trinity Test [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Adults swear, Attempted murder via flying objects and various other means, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, I swear, Not showing this would be unrealistic, Teenagers swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 10:17:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 32,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17958593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webslinger9_5am/pseuds/Bombus%20-Pascuorum
Summary: The Hargreeve siblings disapear in a flash of blue just as the theatre comes crashing down.This is where they went.





	1. Your Mother Should Know

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter title Your Mother Should Know by the Beatles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time travel happens and naps are had.

Allison grimaced as she levered herself up into a sitting position. Her head burned like someone had stuffed it with cotton through her nose and her skin was crawling.

“Where?” Someone muttered- probably Diego.

She squinted at their dark surroundings and sucked in an alarmed breath when she saw Vanya still draped, limp, in Luther's arms, “Vanya. Vanya, oh my god!”

She scrambled closer and reached for her sister's throat with shaking hands and tears in her eyes.

“She's alive,” Luther said but let Allison check for herself anyway.

Diego cursed somewhere behind her and Luther looked over her head while she checked Vanya's pulse and sagged with relief.

“Five, come on,” A new voice said- one she hadn't heard in years.

Allison turned and saw Klaus and Diego crouched with Ben.

Ben who was _alive._

Allison straightened, opening her mouth to ask how that was possible. Her new position brought Five’s pallid face into her line of sight and the words died on her lips.

“Is he okay?” Luther asked.

Diego glanced their way.

Klaus shook his head with a bewildered expression, “He's breathing?”

“That'll have to be good enough,” Luther said, pulling Vanya closer to his chest, “Diego, get him up. We need to get home.”

“How?” Klaus asked incredulously, “We're kids.”

“There's a bus stop half a block away,” Ben said as he helped Diego prop Five against the knife thrower's shoulder.

“Does anyone have bus fair?” Klaus asked as they all shuffled to their feet.

“Shit,” Diego muttered.

Allison patted her pockets down and found twenty dollars and fifty cents, “I do. Do we really want to go home though? Dad is probably around and then there's Pogo.”

“We have to,” Luther said gravely, heading towards the stage steps, “These two could need medical attention and I doubt we have enough to stay in a motel.”

“Shit,” Diego repeated.

Klaus huffed.

 

Sir Reginald was gone when they arrived and Pogo was nowhere to be seen.

Allison found herself leading the rest of them up the stairs to Five’s room with all of its equations scribbled on the walls. She opened the door and Luther swept past with Vanya to set her on one side of the bed while Diego hung back by Allison.

“He’s bleeding again,” Diego said quietly.

Allison shot him an alarmed look.

Ben and Klaus shoved them aside to get into the room, chattering about something or other.

“What? But we went back in time!” She hissed.

Diego shrugged, “And he didn’t change this time. Don’t ask me how this shit works. I’m gonna see if I can find mom. You keep an eye on them.”

Allison nodded and watched him set Five down next to Vanya before leaving the room.

Luther frowned after him.

“What was _that_ about?” Klaus asked, leaning against the window frame while Ben perched on the adjacent armchair.

“Who cares?” Luther stalked over to the other armchair in the room, “We have to figure out what to do with Vanya.”

“We’re going to _help_ her,” Allison nearly growled with an icy glare at the blond. She stalked across the room to the bed and gave Five a quick once over.

Dark patches were beginning to form on his right shoulder and forearm. She ignored them for now in favor of lifting his jacket enough to see the spreading stain in his lower abdomen.

Klaus leaned over the bed curiously, “Oo. That doesn’t look good.”

“I’m not saying we _don’t_ help her,” Luther protested, “I just- Look. I’m trying to be realistic here.”

“Yeah, and we’re realistically going to help her learn control,” Ben said firmly.

Allison dropped the bit of Five’s jacket back over the injury and pressed down on it, “You’re either with us or you’re not, Luther. Your choice.”

Klaus’ eyebrows shot up and he leaned back against the wall, “Wow. They sure showed you.”

Allison could practically hear Luther’s scowl. She checked Vanya’s pulse with her free hand instead of giving him the satisfaction of her attention.

“What about you?”

Klaus put a hand over his heart with feigned surprise, “ _Me?_ You want to listen to _me?”_

Luther must have looked like he was going to say something because he straightened in challenge.

“No, no, no, no. You don’t get to take it back. You asked,” Klaus grinned, “ _My_ opinion is that we should help her.”

“Klaus,” Luther sighed.

“Don’t you Klaus me, asshole,” He snarled, “I said it before and I’ll say it again. She’s probably terrified out of her mind about these powers that she doesn’t know how to control. The least we can do, _as her_ **_family_ ** _,_ is help her figure them out.”

Allison looked over her shoulder at Luther and was pleased to see he looked at least a _little_ guilty.

“She hurt Allison,” Luther protested weakly.

“I'm fi-”

“Who's hurt?” Mom asked, stepping into the room with Diego on her heels.

“Five,” Allison said at the same time Luther said, “No one,” but she was louder.

Grace furrowed her brow in concern and swooped in with a soft, “Oh dear.”

Allison barely got out of her way in time.

“What's wrong with Five?” Luther asked with growing alarm that was only made worse when Allison held up her hand to show him the blood.

“He has torn stitches,” Their mom said calmly, “Diego, would you be a dear and fetch the first aid kit from the bathroom down the hall?”

“I'll get it,” Ben declared when Diego was reluctant to go.

“There's something wrong with his shoulder too,” Allison said, “And Vanya hasn’t woken up since we got here.”

Their mom nodded and shifted further down the bed, “Luther, dear, help me get his shirt and jacket off.”

Allison watched Luther get up and move to help her with stiff limbs like a puppet.

“I don't understand how he's gotten like this,” Mom said, “He was fine just this morning.”

The blazer, sweater vest and shirt were dumped at the foot of the bed and Luther lowered Five back down with a lot more care than he would have a few days ago.

There was a bandage at Five's elbow that had bled through in addition to the blood leaking from under the band-aid on his shoulder.

“He, um,” Allison started and stopped, glancing at Diego.

The idiot shrugged unhelpfully and Luther pinned them both with an expectant gaze, “You knew about this?”

“Well, yeah,” Allison said somewhat defensively.

Klaus put his hands over his mouth with a choked sound that could’ve been a laugh, “You mean _that_ was why he was hobbling around like an old man the past few days?”

Five let out a hiss that startled the siblings and grimaced, “Klaus,” he croaked.

The medium moved closer curiously.

“Shut up,” Five groaned.

Luther huffed and Allison smiled in relief. Even Diego's lips twitched upwards, though that was probably due to the fact that Klaus looked half way to smacking Five upside the head.

“Be nice to your brother,” Mom admonished gently, checking the shoulder injury, “Who did these?”

Allison pressed her lips into a firm line.

“I did,” Five said way too calmly, but then, that was just par for the course with him.

Mom hummed her disapproval and checked the bleeding on his abdominal wound again, “You should've asked me. You’ve pulled a few. I'm going to need to re-do some of them.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Five mumbled.

Allison's eyebrows shot up and a glance at the others showed them to be just as surprised as her but none of them dared call him it.

“I've got it!” Ben declared, trotting back in with a white box.

Mom turned a beaming smile on him, “Thank you, dear. Could you get a suture kit out for me, please?”

Ben set the kit by Five's knee and started digging through it.

The reminder that mom was going to be sewing Five back up had Allison pushing Diego into the armchair by Klaus’ window before Ben could reclaim it. They didn't need three siblings down.

Diego flashed her a strained smile once he realized what she was doing.

“Hey, Mom? Where's dad?” Diego asked.

Allison kicked herself for not thinking to check for him earlier. If Vanya woke up and he was anywhere here, she’d flip.

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife but mom looked up with a smile as if she didn't notice, “Out looking for all of you, silly. You disappeared at dinner.”

“And Pogo?” Luther asked with an edge to his voice that Allison didn’t quite understand. He had and Pogo were both still loyal to Dad, right?

Mom tilted her head to the side with a slight frown, “He’s checking the grounds. They should be back soon.” She turned back around to finish pulling the damaged stitches from Five’s side.

Allison and Klaus grimaced at the thirteen year old’s hiss of pain.

“We- We can’t let them be here when Vanya wakes up,” Five said.

Allison was inclined to agree with him, given what happened between her and Pogo last time.

Of course Mom didn’t know about that, “Why is that, dear?”

Allison saw Five flinch when she moved her arm and stepped closer to them before she spoke up, “Vanya might not react well to seeing them. She was… Upset, before.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. Your father’s worried about all of you,” Mom said but stilled when Five gripped her arm.

“Mom, please,” Five pleaded.

Allison marveled as their mother nodded in agreement and took the soaked towelette Ben offered her to clean Five’s side.

“I still don’t understand it, but I think I can give all of you until tomorrow,” Mom said, “You’ll have some explaining to do, of course.”

“We can work with that,” Luther said with more assurance than was clear on his face.

The room lapsed into relative silence for a few minutes as Mom taped up Five’s side and moved on to the cut in his shoulder. The only sounds were the click of forceps and scissors with the occasional hiss from Five when she pulled the thread too hard.

“How are we going to work on that?” Diego asked. His gaze was focused on Allison when she looked.

Klaus shrugged helplessly and she saw Ben glance her way in askance.

“Shit,” Luther sighed.

“Language,” Mom tutted, taking a roll of gauze from Ben.

Luther cast her a sheepish glance that would’ve probably been funny in any other circumstances, “Sorry, Mom.”

“First of all,” Five started, pausing to make sure they were all paying attention, “We’re all going to apologize.”

Luther seemed like he was going to protest but the combined stares of his siblings seemed to cow him somewhat and he reluctantly nodded.

“If that doesn’t work?” Klaus asked.

Five closed his eyes, “We figure it out. Preferably during the day. If she blasts a hole in the sun we’ll be okay.”

“That doesn’t sound like something we would be able to survive,” Ben countered.

Five’s grip on Mom’s sleeve tightened momentarily before he dropped his hand back to the bed with a sigh, “There isn’t enough energy on the planet to do any damage to it. The Earth would be fine,” He explained slowly.

Luther rolled his eyes, “I meant _us.”_

“You still want to kill her,” Diego accused.

Allison folded her arms over her chest and shot Luther a _look_.

He opened his mouth and closed it, “Of course I don’t! How could you say that?” He actually had the gall to look hurt.

Mom turned with a bloody swab in her hand to eye Luther calculatingly. It was a testament to how her programming had degraded over the years- or how badly it had been damaged when Pogo and Dad had tampered with it- that she was acting protective now.

Allison had forgotten that she was even capable of it.

“I _don’t!”_ Luther insisted, “I didn’t before either.”

She must have seen what she needed to because she went back cleaning the cut at Five’s elbow without comment.

“I find that hard to believe,” Diego said.

Luther jumped to his feet.

“Luther, don’t,” Ben pleaded, moving away from the bed to get between the two.

“What, are you going to kill me?” Diego asked mockingly.

“Diego, stop,” Allison said.

He looked at her, challenging, but Allison held him with a stony gaze.

“If you’re going to kill each other and make four decades of work completely pointless, could you at least do it somewhere else?” Five asked acidly, “Or, at least, _quietly?”_

Luther and Diego shot him confused frowns and with the complete derailing of their argument, the fight died.

Klaus looked between the two then at Five, “Wow. Who knew your bad attitude could be used for good?”

Five shot him a murderous glare.

Klaus put a hand over his mouth, eyes wide, “Oh, _right!_ The headache!” He stage whispered, making no effort to actually lower the volume of his voice.

Allison fidgeted.

Five looked like he was about ready to shove Klaus out the window.

Diego stood and for a second, Allison thought he might do it for him but he just said, “Klaus, shut up,” and left the room.

Allison and Luther watched him go.

“Well, _that_ was interesting,” Klaus mused.

“Klaus,” Ben said in a warning tone.

He actually went silent at that.

Allison noticed Five relax minutely.

Mom straightened and checked Vanya over before she started cleaning up, “That should be fine for now. I’ll be back to check on Vanya again and change your bandages in the morning.” She smiled then added to the rest of the room, “I’ll let your father know you’re all safe and that you’re tired.”

Allison smiled, “Thanks, Mom.”

Mom flashed her another smile and left with the dirty bandages.

Five immediately pushed himself up with his good arm.

Klaus twitched toward him then leaned away, “Um. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Five closed his eyes and sat still for a second before getting to his feet gingerly and shuffling across the room to his dresser, “We’re going to have to figure out a way to keep Vanya from killing dad that _doesn’t_ involve locking her up.”

Klaus flopped a hand against his side in exasperation and leaned further into the wall.

“How?” Luther frowned.

“You couldn’t have dropped us at the beginning of the eight days?” Klaus asked.

Five pulled a drawer open with a grimace, “No- well, maybe, but that would have required more complex calculations than we had time for.” He pulled out a pajama shirt and shrugged it on, “Just be glad there doesn’t seem to be two of everyone. That would be a disaster.”

Klaus hummed in agreement, “Yeah, if there were two of you, I don’t know how we’d cope.”

Five did the last button up on his shirt with a dubious hum.

“Maybe if we just explain the situation to her?” Ben suggested.

Five hobbled over to the desk chair and started taking off his shoes, “Maybe. We might just have to see how she takes everything in the morning. You three shouldn’t be in here when she wakes up. Neither should Diego.”

“Now, hang on a minute,” Luther protested, “What if she becomes violent? We can’t just leave her unsupervised after what she did.”

“As bullheaded as he tends to be, I agree with Luther on this one,” Klaus said.

Allison frowned. While she didn’t exactly want to leave Vanya to wake up alone, she didn’t think they should be treating her like an enemy. She did; However, see where they were coming from so she stayed silent.

Five took a breath and let it out through his nose.

“If she was any one of you, maybe,” He explained slowly, “But she isn’t. Her powers clearly have something to do with her _emotions_ . The only one who hasn’t painted themselves as an _aggressor_ here is Allison. It’s not like you could do much, anyway.”

“Okay, what about you?” Luther asked, clearly still not liking the idea.

Five tossed his shoes towards Allison and straightened with a grimace, “If worse comes to worse, I can try to get her somewhere less populated. Also, it’s my room. Get out.”

Luther frowned but slowly followed Ben out of the room.

Klaus was the only one who hung back, eyeing their “Little psycho” thoughtfully.

“ _Now,”_ Five ground out.

“Fine! Jeez, no need to be a dick about it.” Klaus hopped too, achy as the rest of them and evidently not in the mood to deal with his brother’s wrath.

Allison felt a little sorry for him. He had, after all, argued in Vanya’s defense from the beginning.

Diego slipped past her and Five immediately started to protest but the taller boy just pushed a glass of water towards him and held out a pill- presumably aspirin.

Five frowned at them but downed the pill with a swig of water and a mumbled thanks.

Diego nodded, “I’m going to go to bed. You good here?”

Allison straightened when she realized he was talking to her and nodded, “Yeah. We’ll be fine.”

“Good. Call me if anything happens,” He said and ducked back out just as quickly as he’d entered it.

She nodded to herself and focused back on the only other conscious occupant of the room.

Five had set the glass of water down and was swaying hesitantly between the bed and the armchair Luther had been in earlier.

Allison walked snagged a book off the top of his wardrobe and crossed over to it with a sigh, “Get in bed. I’m not explaining anymore ripped stitches to Mom.”

Five blinked at her and furrowed his brow as she sat down, “You can push the chairs together if you want. It’ll be more comfortable.”

“That’s okay. I was going to stay up for a bit anyway.” She held up the book with a smile.

Five frowned at the cover, “Reading about Euclidean Quantum Gravity.”

Allison looked at the cover in slight panic. Shit, “Yes.” She forced a smile that earned her a raised eyebrow from him. She was going to strangle him in his sleep.

Five hummed skeptically, “I think there’s a copy of ‘The Happy Prince and other Tales’ by Oscar Wilde on the shelf by the desk.” He shuffled around on top of the sheets until he was lying on the edge of the bed.

Allison smiled, eternally grateful that she wouldn’t have to read about physics, but she still waited until she was pretty sure he was asleep before she ditched the book on his side table and checked his shelf. She glanced over an untouched copy of ‘The Genealogy of Morality’ and grinned when she found the lined spine of ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’. He’d actually read it. Allison gently tugged the book off the shelf, stealing glances over her shoulder to make sure no one saw, and retreated back to the armchair with her prize.

She cast one look back at the bed to make sure her siblings were still out before cracking open the book.


	2. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, Dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word by Elton John

Vanya drifted towards awareness reluctantly. When she fully came to herself, her skin was crawling and she just wanted to sink back into blissful unawareness. The buzzing ache in her head kept her from going back under. She grimaced and shifted to dispel the feeling only to stop when she was met with resistance. That was when she noticed her whole left side had been warm and there was a light weight on her stomach.

Vanya opened her eyes to find Five fast asleep with one arm thrown over her middle like she was a giant teddy bear. She frowned and shifted enough to see over him.

Five hummed in protest and his grip tightened minutely while he muttered incoherently in a reassuring tone.

Vanya frowned, wondering what had happened since Luther locked her in the basement, and looked over at Allison slumped in the armchair on the other side of the nightstand with an open book in her lap.

She was maybe thirteen, in her uniform, and the bandage on her neck was gone like Vanya had never attacked her.

Vanya felt her throat close with a choked noise. She hadn’t meant to hurt her. She didn’t want to be special anymore. She just wanted to be normal.

Five groaned and the arm disappeared, “V’nya?”

She pulled further away from him to curl up into a ball on the other side of the headboard.

Five pushed himself into a sitting position with a wince and shifted around so he was sitting cross-legged in front of her. She blearily saw him shoot Allison a helpless look before putting a hand lightly on her knee, “Vanya?”

Vanya tried to blink away the tears and gave a wet sniff, “I didn’t mean it.”

Her brother furrowed his brow, “Are you okay?”

Vanya sucked in a shaky breath and let it out in a sob, “I didn’t mean it.”

“Mean what?” Five asked.

Did he not know? They had to have told him. Could she have been sent back in time alone? Maybe she was just crazy. It could’ve been a dream. A super realistic, drawn out, horrible nightmare.

“How much do you remember?” He asked carefully.

Vanya hiccuped and looked over at Allison to make sure she was really there. Should she tell him? Vanya hugged her knees closer and Five’s hand fell away, “I-I hurt Al-lison.”

Five nodded slowly.

“I didn’t mean to,” She added.

“I know,” He said gently and she was reminded of when Luther choked her in the foyer.

She looked around the room like he could really hide his large frame anywhere- or not so large if Allison was anything to go by. He wasn’t there, though. They were alone except for Allison sleeping in the corner. The prickling of her skin didn’t go away and she shuddered, “Luther locked me up.”

Five nodded, “We aren’t going to let him do that again. Everyone’s pretty mad at him.”

Vanya frowned. They were? She thought she remembered them arguing outside the cell, but she hadn’t been able to hear them. Things had started to get fuzzy after that.

Five played with the edge of his pajama shirt uncertainly, “I’m… Sorry, that I wasn’t there to stop them. I should’ve been. I should’ve at least tried to talk to you after we found Jenkins.”

Vanya felt a dull throb of fear amidst her other emotions and a breeze of power rippled through the room. The lamp and glass on the nightstand rattled and Five’s hair was ruffled but that was it. Vanya gripped her knees tighter and wished she didn’t have powers again.

Five was watching her with a new sense of understanding.

He knew she was dangerous. She’d killed. They were going to lock her up again.

“Vanya?” Five asked. Was that worry?

She forced her gaze to focus on him and tried to pay attention to the little details like the stiff way he held himself with one hand around his middle, the little crease between his eyebrows, anything to keep her from another outburst.

“Vanya,” He pressed.

She lifted her head higher to show she was listening.

He stared at her for a second as if trying to decide what to say, “His death was not your fault.”

She dropped her head back down in sick dread, “You weren’t there.”

“Okay, fair point,” He conceded with a nod, “But we still don’t hold it against you. He manipulated you.”

She bunched her hands up into fists on her knees and scrunched her eyes shut.

“Shit,” Five muttered and she sensed him lean closer, “Sorry.”

She tightened her grip and made what she hoped was a sound of acknowledgement.

“Okay. It's okay. Hey, what’s the first note of the D major scale?” Five asked.

Vanya lifted her head to frown at him, “D.” He should know this.

Five made a show of kicking himself for the stupid question, “And the second?”

“E,” She replied, not really sure where he was going with this. Maybe he was buying time for the others, but he’d woken up _after_ her and he hadn’t made a move to alert them to the fact that she was awake. He hadn’t even tried to wake up Allison, who was asleep on the other side of the room still.

“Third?” He continued with a glint of… Something in his eye.

“F sharp. Are you okay?” She countered.

Five nodded, “I’m fine. Fourth?”

Vanya narrowed her eyes at him, “G, then it goes A and B before descending. What are you trying to do?”

“How do you feel now?” He asked instead of answering her question.

She frowned, “Annoyed.”

Five quirked a brow, “Well, I suppose nobody’s perfect.”

Vanya snorted, “Not even you?”

“I’m a few inches short of greatness,” He replied with a false seriousness that had Vanya smiling despite herself.

“I think you mean a few feet,” She teased.

Five scowled, “Hey.”

“Vanya?” Allison inquired groggily.

Vanya froze with her startled gaze locked on her sister.

Allison set her book aside and crossed the room to wrap her in a hug.

Vanya shot a wide eyed look at Five over her shoulder and cautiously returned it when all he offered was an encouraging smile.

Allison gave her another quick squeeze before pulling away, “Are you okay?”

Vanya offered her a fragile smile and nodded. She seemed genuinely worried. There wasn’t a hint of the anger Vanya had been expecting, “I’m sorry.”

“I know. It’s okay,” Allison smiled sadly, “I upset you and you lost control. It was my fault too.”

Vanya felt tears welling up in her eyes again and she lurched forward to hug Allison again with a sob.

Allison hugged her close again immediately, resting her chin on the crook of Vanya’s shoulder, “I forgive you.”

Vanya closed her eyes.

“Oh, dear,” Mom said from the doorway.

Vanya opened her eyes and she and Allison both straightened as Mom came in with a worried frown.

“Vanya, are you alright?” She asked.

Vanya smiled and scrubbed away her tears, “I’m fine, Mom.”

Grace echoed the smile back with a hint of relief and nodded, “Good.” She turned to Five, “Time to change your bandages.”

Vanya’s head snapped to her brother in accusation, “You said you were fine.”

Five grimaced, “I am. Mom stitched me up.”

“Read, he’s not dying again,” Allison said with an audible eye roll.

Vanya’s disapproval increased tenfold.

Five rolled his eyes and lifted his shirt enough for Mom to get at his side, “Like I said. Fine.”

“When did this happen?” Vanya asked as Mom carefully peeled the bandage off.  
“When I escaped the commision,” Five said.

Vanya looked at Allison for clarification.

Her sister had her eyes narrowed in thought but they abruptly widened as she spun to jab a finger at their brother, “You mean when you showed up and started going on about sideshows?”

“I was talking about how the apocalypse was in three days, but, if that was your take away from that conversation, sure,” Five said and dropped his shirt to roll up his sleeve, “I blew up most of their briefcases but I miscalculated the blast radius and got caught by some shrapnel.”

“You shouldn’t be handling explosives at all,” Mom tutted, “You’re thirteen.”

Vanya watched in vague amusement as Five’s jaw clenched and he pressed his lips together in a kind of smile.

“You said _y’all_ ,” Allison said like that was more unbelievable than their brother escaping an organization of time traveling assassins after blowing up their- _Briefcases_?

“I don’t remember any of this,” Vanya said.

“You left the house right before. He just kind of popped out on the bar. Scared the shit out of us,” Allison explained.

“Language,” Mom chastized and reached for Five’s collar.

Allison looked more embarrassed at being caught than the actual swear.

Five swatted at Mom’s hand and took the bandages from her, “I can do that one.”

Vanya quirked an eyebrow at his retreating back as he grabbed a set of clothes from his wardrobe and limped out of the room.

Mom straightened, “Breakfast is in thirty minutes, girls, and your brothers are waiting outside for you.”

This statement was quickly confirmed by a string of curses from Five.

Mom turned towards the door with a disapproving frown and left.

Allison and Vanya’s eyes met and they both burst out laughing.

Diego was poking his head around the door frame a beat later.

Klaus flounced in with a smug grin and plopped down on the desk chair backwards, “You look chipper.”

Vanya smiled cautiously, suppressing the immediate rise of nerves, “Yeah. What’d you do?”

Klaus put a hand over his heart dramatically, “ _Me?_ ”

Allison turned a skeptical look his way.

“Oh, _I_ didn’t do anything,” Klaus grinned.

Diego rolled his eyes, “Luther accidentally tripped Five.”

Allison rolled her eyes.

“Miraculously, our formerly gargantuan brother is still alive,” Klaus added.

“Whether that’s a good thing or not remains to be seen,” Diego said facetiously.

Luther stepped into the doorway with a sullen expression, “I can hear you.”

Vanya froze, any hint of a smile dropping instantly to be replaced with icy dread.

Diego looked over his shoulder at him, “Good.”

Luther shifted on his feet awkwardly and cleared his throat, “Vanya.”

Vanya eyed him uncertainly. She wasn’t sure how she would handle him coming any closer, but he hadn’t tried to strangle her yet, so, so far so good, “Hi.”

“I’m sorry… about before,” He said.

Klaus hit him in the chest, earning himself a glare.

“I was trying to protect Allison- protect the _family_ and I forgot-” He cleared his throat, “I forgot that you’re part of that and I’m sorry.”

Vanya nodded reluctantly.

Allison scoffed.

“Well, _that_ was just-” Klaus clapped once with a shake of his head, “A _shit_ apology. I mean come on, man. You _forgot?”_

Luther frowned at him.

Vanya looked between her siblings uncomfortably, “It’s okay, guys. I’d really just rather move on.”

Diego scowled.

Klaus shrugged.

Luther just looked relieved.

Five appeared in the doorway with Ben, “I see things are off to a good start,” The former remarked in a dry tone.

Vanya’s lips quirked upward.

“You ready to see dad again?” Five asked.

“You don’t have to. We can work something out and cover for you,” Allison added quickly.

Ben, Klaus and Five nodded in agreement.

Vanya felt some of the tension in her chest ease and smiled, “That's okay. I'm going to have to face him eventually.”

Allison inclined her head with a proud smile.

Klaus grimaced, “Oh, right.”

“That being said,” Luther started, “We need to figure out how to control your powers. Pills are obviously not the way to go. We'll have to let dad know.”

Vanya fidgeted, “I've kind of already been working on that.”

Luther tensed and his expression turned weary.

“I need to practice, obviously,” Vanya added, “But, I get some of it.”

Luther still looked reluctant to trust her and for a minute, she thought he might insist on locking her up again but then he was nodding in acceptance.

Vanya smiled softly, much more confident about getting her powers under control than when she’d first woken up.

 

Breakfast wound up not being any more awful than it normally was.

Dad had a few stern words to say to them about disappearing but seeing as no one really had an explanation for the event- which had apparently happened _in front_ of him- he’d dropped it with a peeved glance at Five and a terse, “We’ll discuss this later.”

Vanya was glad he let it go, though she did not envy her brother’s current position. If not an explanation, he was at least going to want to experiment and she doubted very much that a man willing to lock one of his daughters in a soundproof room would be very considerate of Five's limits.

The rest of the meal was passed in relative silence while Herr Carlson drawled on about wilderness survival. Dad reluctantly released them to get ready for lessons.

Vanya grabbed Five’s hand, ready to run right out of the room.

“Number Five,” Dad called sharply and the two were forced to stop before they could get more than a few feet from the table.

Vanya was distantly aware of the others hesitating before Luther ushered them away.

Five was tense beside her, positioned staunchly between her and their father.

“My office,” Dad said with no room for argument.

“Yes, sir,” Five ground out and gave Vanya’s hand a squeeze before letting go.

“Get ready for lessons, Number Seven,” Dad said sternly when she didn’t move.

Vanya cast Five a concerned look but he just nodded encouragement. She walked from the room with a sinking feeling and hoped that she was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Luther will be experiencing a learning curve. Once I figure out how to do that. I have a rough idea.  
> ... Does anyone else think Vanya's handling this awfully well? hmm.  
> As always, feedback is welcome. Hope you enjoyed this! :)


	3. Baltimore's Fireflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five makes a deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna slide this over here and run.  
> Title: Baltimore's Fireflies by Woodkid

Five leaned against the doorframe to his father’s office. He’d jumped most of the way to the office in the hopes of buying himself time to think about what he was going to say. 

He was torn between telling the truth and fabricating something about his powers acting up. Both would probably warrant extensive testing, but it wasn’t like he was getting out of that anyway. If the look the old man had given him was any indication, the seven of them had disappeared under circumstances similar to his normal spacial jumps. There would be no explaining that away.

With the inevitable fall out looming before him, Five leaned his head back with the rest of his body and allowed himself to do something he hadn’t been able to do since he’d first found Delores in a burnt out department store: Breath.

The apocalypse, commission and the previous week of exploits had left little room for just existing. He'd either been clawing his way through life or trying to figure out a way to get his siblings through the apocalypse in relatively one piece. Delores was probably the only reason he was sane enough to function still. Though, that was probably debatable.

Five opened his eyes when he heard the top step creak.

“Inside,” The old man said, stalking forward him.

Five snapped to and suppressed a wince when the action pulled at his side.

His father took his shoulder in a tight grip and steered him into the office. He let go as soon as they cleared the threshold, “I hope you realize that I expect a better explanation than ‘I don't know’ for you and your siblings’ miraculous disappearing act last night.” He slipped around his desk and sat down.

Five trailed him to the middle of the room and stopped, swaying slightly.

“Sit,” the old man barked.

Five reluctantly crossed to the closest chair facing his father and did as he was told.

“Well?” His father asked impatiently, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

_ Don't be cheeky, _ a soft voice that sounded like Delores whispered in the back of his mind.

That would be easier said than done.

“I can't  _ think _ of anything,” Five said.

If Delores were here right now, she would be disappointed in him.

Irritation flashed in his father's eyes, “Young man, I will have none of your lip,” He said sternly, “How did you transport yourself and your siblings from the house last night?”

Five moved his hands in a soft of shrug that wouldn't aggravate his side. His arm twinged, “I worked out a new equation.”

“And I'm supposed to believe that you suddenly discovered this when you can hardly move yourself?” the old man asked skeptically.

Five tilted his head to the side with a humorless smile, “Well, you're the genius,  _ You _ tell  _ me _ .”

“Number Five!” the old man barked thunderously.

Very disappointed.

“Cease this childish behavior at once!” His father raged.

Five quirked an eyebrow at the man and crossed his ankles. He laced his fingers together in front of him with his elbows on the wooden arms of his chair, debating whether or not to stop. On the one hand, the old man wouldn’t get any information and the siblings would have more time to discuss what they were going to tell him. On the other hand, if Five made him too mad, there would be little to no chance of convincing him to stop medicating Vanya. That would require telling him at least  _ some  _ of the truth.

If there was one thing to respect about their father it was that he was impossible to lie to.

Five sighed and hoped that this decision wouldn’t come back to bite any of them in the ass, “How much do you know about the apocalypse?”

The old man straightened with an uneasy expression on his face, anger quickly disappearing at the sight of Five’s sudden lack of arrogance, “What does that have to do with this?”

“Everything,” Five replied, “Answer the question, please.”

“In roughly eighteen years, the moon will be destroyed, sending catastrophic shards of rock hurtling into Earth’s atmosphere. The Umbrella Academy is the world’s best chance at stopping it,” The old man said, “Now what is this about?” 

Five brought his laced fingers up to his chin, “Before I answer that, I have conditions.”

The old man scowled, “You are in no position to be making demands.”

“Actually, I am,” Five replied, straightening slightly so he was closer to the older man’s height, “You don’t cooperate and I can have the others up and out of here just like that.” He snapped his fingers.

“Boasting your ability to leave isn’t the wisest move,” His father remarked coldly.

Five shrugged and gave him a wincing smile, “No, but I’m counting on the others being able to get along long enough to get out on their own. You can’t stop all of them.”

His father sighed, “What are your demands?”

“I have three,” Five said and made sure he had his father’s full attention before continuing, “First, you don’t ever lock Klaus in the mausoleum again.”

The old man scowled but nodded reluctantly.

“Second, and I’ll explain why this is important when I answer your question, you stop giving Vanya her mood suppressants and never lock her up in the basement again,” Five said decisively.

The old man stood up, “Now just a minute. That medication is vital to her health, and if you must know, the health of everyone around her.”

Five calmly stared back at his angry gaze, “That condition is non negotiable. The fate of the world could depend on it.”

The old man let out a huff and sat back down, “Your answer had better be worth this.”

“Third,” Five said in lieu of an answer, “You pick up a damn parenting book.”

“Number Five,” The old man said in a warning tone.

“I’m serious,” Five said, staring the older man down with an amount of venom he wouldn’t normally use on those he considered family, “They aren’t science experiments. They’re people.  _ And  _ they’re your children. If you had acted like it from the beginning, the apocalypse could have been prevented  _ years  _ ago.”

“Fine,” The old man nearly growled, “I accept your conditions. Now, what happened last night?”

“On the first of April in approximately eighteen years from now, as you know, the world ends,” Five started, “In the original timeline, a man named Harold Jenkins steals Vanya’s pills so she can’t take them and manipulates her with the intention of destroying the Umbrella Academy. She winds up killing him, accidentally hurting Allison, losing control of her powers completely and blasting a hole in the moon during a confrontation with us.”

“Which super-heats the moon’s core, causing an uneven expansion of matter and the moon breaks apart, devastating the Earth,” The old man concluded.

Five nodded, “Exactly, but if Vanya learns control, and we act like a family for once, that never happens.”

“You’re placing an awful lot of faith in your sister,” The old man said.

“I’ve learned it’s better not to bet against Vanya.” Five slowly pushed himself up and held out a hand, “You with us or not?”

His father looked at his outstretched hand somewhat skeptically, “If this fails, on your head be it.”

Five offered him a humorless smile, “Naturally.”

Dad reached across the desk and took Five’s hand in a firm shake, “Lessons are in ten minutes. You’d better be ready by the time I get outside.”

Five nodded, “Yes, sir.”

A strange look crossed the older man’s face as he indicated the door with his head, “Off you go.”

Five walked out the door and got a glance of Ben before Klaus had entrapped him in a painful full-bodied grip. Five grimaced, belatedly realizing the action was a hug, and patted his brother’s rib cage awkwardly. 

Klaus pulled away and then he and Ben were dragging Five off down the hall much faster than he wanted to go. 

He was too startled to say anything and they were at his room by the time he could.

He hadn’t had a hug- a  _ real  _ hug, anyway- since he was actually thirteen and that had been because Vanya was upset. He wasn’t quite sure what this one had been for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am aware that in real life Five would get smacked good for being a pest. I was banking more on Reginald prioritizing what he perceived to be the more pressing thing and that would be the sudden shift in Five's abilities (and therefore the inaccuracies of Reggie's notes). His notes being wrong would freak him out, especially because that could affect all seven kids' well being.   
> Reginald needs to learn how to people- also parent. Grace will supervise.  
> Also, Rule two of time travel: DON'T TELL PEOPLE WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO DIE (Rule one is don't go back in your own timeline) *glares at Five*  
> Don't quote me on the science, but I based it on what happens if you stick a glass on a hot surface (Don't try it, and the difference in temperature has to be decently large) it'll either crack or shatter.  
> Klaus was accidentally squeezing the shrapnel wound and Five's shoulder when he hugged him.  
> This is shorter for a shift in scene (and song). mwahaha  
> I feel like I'm forgetting something important. Oh, well.


	4. Sympathy for the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I shouted out “Who killed the Kennedys” when after all, it was you and me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones  
> My alternative was Killer Queen, but this one fit better.

Across town, but closer than was probably healthy for the Hargreeve children, a blue light flashed, leaving a young woman with brown victory curls beneath a small hat and round shades beneath the hat’s mesh veil. One hand was tucked into the pocket of her long coat while the other held a black briefcase. She looked both ways down the street and her painted red lips turned up in a smile, “March, 2001.” She inhaled deeply and the smile turned into a smirk as she left to head to her hotel. If she played her cards right she might be done in time to see the Russian space station disposed of.

With that in mind, she strode, heels clicking into the lobby of her hotel.

There was a slip of a blonde behind the counter with too much makeup and a bored look about her. 

“Welcome to Holiday Inn, how may we be of service to you today?” The receptionist asked in a friendly enough tone. She’d likely not had much to do before.

The veiled woman smiled, “I have a reservation for Fisher, please.”

The blond nodded and clacked away at her blocky computer.

The veiled woman stared curiously. She had never understood the appeal. Too much information could be lost with a few drops of water. It was part of the reason the Commision still used typewriters. Well, that and the printer jams would be endless with the amount of work they got through in one day.

The receptionist looked up, catching the woman’s gaze and shifting uncomfortably in her chair, “I have a Queen, single?”

“That’ll be fine,” The veiled woman said with a flash of teeth.

The receptionist nervously smiled back and went about getting the room key and handing it over, “Nice heels.”

The veiled woman’s lips pulled up into a blood-red smile as she took her key, “Thanks.”

“Oh! And there’s this for you,” The receptionist added, pulling out an accordian file and passing it over.

“Excellent,” The veiled woman grinned and deep red nails scraped across the counter as she grabbed it, “Thank you.”

“Enjoy your stay!” The receptionist called after her.

The veiled woman smiled to herself as her heels tick tocked across the floor, “Yes, I expect I will.”

 

“Pick up your feet number-”

“Vanya,” Five corrected just loud enough for his father to hear.

“Vanya,” The old man continued, “Dragging your feet increases the chance that you trip!”

She almost tripped from shock anyway.

Five smiled as she shot them a confused look from across the courtyard. He couldn't blame her for the surprise. He'd fully expected to at least be walking with them today but one word from Grace and Dad had benched him. 

Five was using the unique opportunity to remind him to use the others’ real names and the old man was actually taking it in stride. It had only earned him a few annoyed looks so far.

“Don’t shove your brother, N- Ben!” Dad barked.

Klaus tripped but managed to turn the awkward shuffle into a series of dancing steps that took him out of Ben’s reach.

Five huffed in amusement.

“Pace yourself!” Dad yelled with a bit less  _ command  _ to it than he normally used as Klaus went careening past the others. It went largely unheard as some of the others snickered and Diego joined Ben in giving chase. 

The exercise devolved from there and the old man sat down on the stone bench next to Five with a fondly exasperated sigh. 

Five kept his focus on his siblings running past in a chattering horde.

Their feet pitter pattered on the ground and kicked up dust that turned acrid in his nose. The noise of their steps died down to a faint crackling. 

He shifted uncomfortably in the heat of the sun. It hadn't been this hot out a few minutes ago. What the Hell?

His muscles tensed of their own accord as he finally recognized the smell on the air as smoke.

Five scanned the surrounding yard for the source but found nothing but his siblings doing a cool down walk after- apparently- having caught Klaus. He settled with a frown, missing his father's inquiring look.

“How long were you gone?” 

Five startled and suppressed a wince, “What?”

“You knew more about the intricate details of the apocalypse than someone who was just living it for the first time,” The old man said, “Which means you landed somewhere else first. How long were you gone?”

Five sighed, “45 years.”

He saw the old man study him for a few seconds before nodding.

“And you told the others what you saw?” His father asked, though it wasn't really a question.

Five made a vague sound of confirmation, keeping his gaze on the others.

“They didn’t believe you,” The old man concluded.

Five’s lips pulled up into a toothy smile, “Nope. They do  _ now _ , though.”

His father made a non-committal sound of agreement, “I don’t suppose you kept up with your studies while you were stuck in the aftermath of the end of times.”

Five quirked an eyebrow at him.

His father sighed, “ _ Won _ derful.” He promptly climbed to his feet and called Five’s siblings to order.

 

The rest of the morning went by with little incident. Five walked around the edge of the courtyard with his hands firmly shoved in his pockets every so often while the others did basic exercises. Klaus fell on his face at one point and their father told him to be more careful with a surprisingly  _ un _ biting tone. 

Eventually, he let them break off to get ready for lunch.

Five went inside ahead of them and made a beeline for the kitchen where he could smell mom finishing up. It masked the acrid scent of smoke to some degree and the sounds of her puttering about the kitchen were mundane enough to be soothing.

By the time she noticed he was there, he felt almost human again.

“Hello, Five. Are you feeling better?”

He returned her bright smile with a tired version of his own, “I'm fine,” he said automatically, then reminded himself they didn't have an apocalypse to worry about in the immediate future, “Just a little tired, and sore.”

“I see,” Mom said, “Your father didn't have you run, did he?”

“No, I'm on strictly academic studies for two weeks,” Five replied.

“Good.” Mom beamed, “Would you like to help me with setting the food out?”

Five nodded and jumped to the stool in front of the counter while she took the pans of lasagna from the oven.

He pulled out eight plates individually and set them in a stack on the counter.

“Five?” 

He turned with a frown. 

Diego was standing in the doorway with a confused look on his face.

At his brother's glare Diego seemed to determine that questioning Five's presence on the kitchen wasn’t worth the impending injury. He padded over to the counter and pulled open the silverware drawer before taking the stack of plates.

Five scowled after his brother but took the hint, gathering eight sets of silverware to take out to the table while Grace brought the food.

“So, Dad’s acting weird,” Diego said from the opposite side of the table. He looked uncomfortable… Or nervous.

Five idly hoped his brother didn’t mistakenly think the table would stop Five from strangling him.

“What did you say to him?” Diego asked.

Five carefully put out another set of silverware, “He and I came to an agreement. That’s all you need to know.”

 

The veiled woman smiled down at the open folder in her hands, "Well, aren't you a special little fish?" She picked up the picture of her target to study more closely. 

The dark haired boy in the photo was looking over his shoulder in the wrong direction to notice the photographer, though, she doubted that had lasted long if the rest of the report was anything to go by.

"Hello, Five."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reginald is trying.  
> Lavinia Fisher: Supposedly America’s first female serial killer. This is from Wikipedia, though so take with a grain of salt.  
> Don’t research serial killers before going to bed. It doesn’t end well.  
> Russian Mir space station was disposed of on March 23, 2001. It broke up in the atmosphere and landed in the South Pacific near Fiji.  
> And Nope has been used as far back as the 1800s though its usage started picking up in the late 40s early 50s. So, Hah! Take that Watson!  
> *gets distracted by music and accomplishes nothing*


	5. Black Magic Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misery's not the only one who loves company. Trouble comes in threes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Black Magic Woman(cover) by VCTRYS

The Veiled woman tucked her accordian file under her arm. It was surprisingly extensive. And thick for someone who, for all intents and purposes, was thirteen but  _ that _ was hardly a surprise. It said he’d been recruited in the future. The Commision liked to use its toys for a good long time before throwing them away. If they wanted this one disposed of, it was definitely broken beyond repair.

The Veiled woman looked both ways before crossing over to the Griddy’s Donuts she was supposed to meet her new partner at. It was surprisingly busy for a shop selling donuts in the middle of the afternoon. She went inside and scanned the tiled room for the man she was supposed to meet. He would have a black briefcase with him just like the one at her side.

The Veiled woman blinked in surprise when she saw it under the table where a woman with silvery hair pulled back into a strict bun sat glaring at the shop’s front window. 

T _ his _ was Jack the Ripper?

The Veiled woman sat down across from her with an acidicly sweet smile, “Jack. Or should I address you as miss Ripper?”

The woman quirked an imperious brow, “Jacqueline, actually. Should I call you Lavinia or Fisher?”

The Veiled woman’s smile wilted like a dead flower, “I prefer not to use my name.”

“I’ll have to think of something, then,” Jacqueline decided, “They’ve explained the mission to you, I hope?”

The Veiled woman nodded, “Assess the damage. Terminate Five.”

Jacqueline studied her with icy blue eyes, calculating, with her fingers laced together on the table between them, “If the damage cannot be salvaged, yes. The Commision put quite a lot of work into this one.”

“I could tell,” The Veiled woman remarked dryly, “Thirty agents?”

“Excuse me, could I get either of you two ladies anything to drink?” a middle aged waitress asked sweetly. Her tag read ‘Agnes’ when the woman looked.

Red lips pulled up into a white smile as the women met the blonde’s gaze, “Yes, please. I’ll take a coffee with a side of cream,” The Veiled woman said, “Jack?”

“Coffee. Black.” 

The waitress grinned brighter under Jacqueline’s glare and tapped her notepad, “Okay. I’ll have that right out for you.”

The Veiled woman flashed her a grin before turning back to Jacqueline.

The woman’s gaze remained as frigid as an iceberg, “Take those ridiculous glasses off. Honestly! They told me they were sending a professional.”

The Veiled woman tucked the light mesh up over her hat and removed her sunglasses, “And they told me I was going to be working with a legend, yet here you are, some dusty old fossil.”

Jacqueline leaned across the table, “Listen here, you  _ wanker,  _ we have a job to do. An extremely dangerous,  _ delicate  _ job and if you  _ muck it up _ , you will  _ wish  _ they sent someone after you.”

The Veiled woman sat perfectly still, meeting the other killer’s gaze with what she hoped was at least a halfway decent poker face. It wouldn’t do to let Jacqueline know that her little speech had actually sent a thrill of fear down her spine, “You don’t have to worry about  _ me _ . That sour expression on your face will give you away every time.”

Jacqueline huffed and sat back in her chair.

The Veiled woman brought out her folder and slid it across to the silver haired woman, “And I am a professional.”

“How long did it take for you to get caught, again?” Jacqueline asked acidly.

“Look, we can work together or we can run separate missions. Your call,” The Veiled woman said, tugging the file back towards herself.

Jacqueline put a hand over hers, “Fine. I’m in charge. I have the most experience.”

The Veiled woman’s lips quirked upward, “Deal.”

 

A few miles away, in Five's room, the Hargreeve “children” were having a “family meeting” while their father came up with a new test for them in his office.

Ben was going to murder them all.

Though, by the looks of things, Five might beat him to it.

“You  _ told _ him?” Luther asked with a stern tone that had Five shifting on his feet in front of his bed with a wide-eyed irritation that promised impending violence.

Ben sighed and leaned more on the door frame.

Klaus grinned at him from the rolling desk chair.

“ _ Yes _ ,” Five said, arms folded over his chest as he took a threatening step towards their brother, “In case you don't remember, he can tell when we're lying and we need his cooperation if we want to keep Vanya off her medication.”

“Do we, though?”

“Do-” Five spun away, running his hands through his hair in a tense gesture of frustration that could _ not _ be good for his stitches.

“Yes, we do,” Allison said firmly from where she stood beside the armchair Diego was sitting in. 

Vanya was leaning awkwarly against the arm of it, looking like she wanted to disappear.

Luther turned to her and had the audacity to look hurt, “They work!”

“Only if she takes them  _ on time _ ,” Five snarled at him, “In case you forgot, Harold Jenkins is still alive in this timeline, which means, he will likely still try to get to Vanya. If she’s not taking the pills, he has nothing on her and none of it ever happens.”

“Ignoring the fact that I know he’s a creep now,” Vanya put in. 

“You meet him eighteen years from now,” Five said in a flat tone, “Are you really going to tell me you’ll remember not to go out with him?”

Vanya dropped her gaze with a muttered, “No.”

“No pills,” Five said firmly and turned his glare back on Luther, “And no basement.”

The blond held his hands out to the sides in irritation, “I already _ said _ I was sorry!”

“And we already had this discussion,” Five pointed out.

Luther glowered at him and Five meet him with an stony glare.

It didn't take long for the blond to cave with a defeated sigh.

Ben couldn't help but feel a bit of vindictive pride in the six of them putting that expression there.

“Wonderful!” Klaus chirped with a happy clap, “Now we can get back on topic.”

Ben rolled his eyes and he caught some of the others frowning at Klaus in bemusement.

“Right,” Luther said after a minute of silence and turned back to Five, “What exactly did you tell him?”

Five shrugged and barely suppressed a wince, “Nothing much. He already knew about the apocalypse. I told him Harold Jenkins stole Vanya’s pills, she lost control of her powers, and we time traveled here to escape the end of times.” His smile was decidedly unfriendly.

Ben was about ready to sit him down in front of a mirror and teach him how to smile without looking like he was going to stab someone.

Luther shifted uncomfortably, “That’s it?”

“That was the gist of it, yes,” Five replied.

Ben didn’t believe a word.

Luther sighed and shifted again, “We should probably debrief him-” He rolled his shoulders with a grimace before shucking his blazer entirely and dumping it on the desk behind him, “We should probably debrief him together, just to make sure he’s on the same page.”

“ _ All  _ together?” Allison asked skeptically.

“It’ll be a more complete story that way,” Luther said defensively, “And then we only have to do it once.”

“He already asked about all he needs to know,” Five protested.   
“I, for one, would rather be left  _ out  _ of this interrogation,” Klaus said raising his hand.

Ben leveled him with a flat look.

Klaus shrugged at him.

“Right, and you told him,” Luther said acidly.

Five bristled, “ _ Yes. _ I  _ did _ because we need his  _ cooperation _ .”

Ben twitched toward the pair in case Five actually went for Luther while a distant part of him wondered if the fifty eight year old teenager could actually kill him. Probably. But Five had stitches that needed to stay in place, so better not find out, “Look, if your really want to debrief dad, you can do it yourself.”

Luther shot him a wounded look.

Ben  _ almost  _ felt bad, but he wasn’t ready to have a one on one with their father just yet and he was pretty sure Vanya wasn’t either.

One glance at the timid smile she sent his way told him he was right.

Allison gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Diego stood up from his armchair, “I’m going to go see what Mom’s up to.”

“Oo! Me too!” Klaus said and both of them left the room.

Ben started to follow them before he remembered he didn’t have to anymore.

“Hey, we’re not done here,” Luther called after them.

“We’re very done,” Allison said firmly and dragged Vanya from the room for “sister time”.

Whatever  _ that  _ was.

Ben belatedly realized that this left him alone with Luther and Five and sighed.

Five seemed to share his sentiment, shooting a baleful look skyward with an exasperated growl, “Fine. Let’s go.”

Luther and Ben straightened with a confused, “What?” each.

“ _ Someone  _ has to be there to hold your hand,” Five grumbled as if it were obvious, stalking past them, “Ben, there’s a copy of Euclidean Quantum Gravity on the shelf to the left of the window, if you want it.”

Ben perked up, both at the permission to sit out of the impending horror show and the book title. He moved further into the room, ignoring Luther’s confused look. Physics was better than people at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of curiosity, is anyone actually listening to the music in the song titles?  
> Jack the Ripper was an unidentified killer who operated in White Chapel, London. The five deaths confirmed to be connected to the moniker all took place during the year 1888, though there were murders with a resemblance to the "canonical five" as late as 1891.  
> Also, on an unrelated note: If five is in a "suspended quantum state version" of himself that exists across every instance of time, would killing this version of him essentially erase any later versions of him from existence?   
> Food for thought.


	6. Dream On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confessions and Murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream on by Aerosmith  
> Was Dead Man Walking by WAR*HALL because I forgot I wanted this song for it \|*-*)/

Luther fidgeted nervously as he and Five walked down the hall. For all that he’d tried to argue for it, he didn’t actually want to talk to his dad. The reasonable part of his mind said it was the thing to do. He was their legal guardian. He needed to be informed.

A smaller part of him quailed at the thought of being in the same room as the man. It was this part that hissed warnings of pain and loneliness. 

Luther forced his thoughts away from it with limited success. The man they were going to see hadn’t betrayed his trust yet- at least, not in any ways that couldn’t be fixed. 

“We should probably tell him about the Commission,” Five mused beside him.

Luther startled and nodded dumbly.

“They’ll still be coming for us,” his brother continued, likely having missed the action completely, “We’re disrupting the timeline just by being here. Sticking as closely to our previous actions as possible could probably help minimize that, but there would still be noticable changes.”

Luther made an unneeded sound of acknowledgement out of habit. He actually understood what Five was saying, which was nice. He’d probably get mocked if he said anything about it though, so he let Five keep talking.

“We also don’t want it to be too similar, or coming back here would be pointless,” Five continued with the same frown he’d been wearing for the better part of a week.

They stopped at the door to their dad’s office and Luther knocked, “I guess we’ll just have to play it by ear, then.”

Five let out a derisive huff. There was a weary hopelessness in his skepticism to his reaction that made Luther’s heart sink in his chest. 

Five had always been a skeptic, but he’d also been one of the most stubborn people Luther knew. This  _ whatever  _ it was went deeper than that.

It was almost as if he was starting to give up.

Their dad called for them to enter but Luther put a hand on Five’s shoulder to keep him in the hall, “We’ll figure it out.”

Five seemed to size him up, trying to spot a lie, before he nodded.

Luther smiled and they stepped into their dad’s office.

It died the second he got a look at their dad’s scowl.

“Luther, Fievel, what is the meaning of this?” Dad asked.

Luther shifted awkwardly then froze and shot a look at Five, “ _ Fievel?” _

Five shot him a withering glare before turning to address their dad, “We discussed the events that happened over the past week and determined that there were a few more things that you should probably know about. I didn’t mention them in case it might destabilize the time stream.”

Their dad closed the textbook he’d been looking through, with a slightly less irritated frown, “Very well. What is it?”

Five elbowed Luther in the side and the blond stepped forward, clearing his throat, “I, uh. So, about...”

“Eighteen,” Five sighed.

“Eighteen years from now, Five showed up,” Luther started awkwardly and hesitated at his dad’s raised eyebrow, “He travels forward to the apocalypse a year from now,” he elaborated, “But Five showed back up in 2019 and told us about it. Then these crazy people he used to work with showed up-”

“ _ O _ kay,” Five interrupted, “You’re done.”

Their dad looked between them with growing aggravation.

“There is an organization that monitors time. They’ll likely be sending agents after us for disrupting the timeline,” Five explained, “They want the apocalypse to happen.”

Luther nodded, “They tried to kill us, but it didn’t work.”

He heard Five scoff behind him and nearly told him to shut up because he hadn’t been there.

“They were tough. The guy was able to hold his own in a fist fight with me. I don’t think I actually did any damage.”

“You didn’t,” Five said flatly, “He quit a few days later. But that’s irrelevant.”

Luther cast him a frown, “There was a guy called Harold Jenkins. Vanya was dating him. Diego found out he’d killed his father when he was a kid. Allison went to warn her. We- uh. We followed later. Vanya wasn’t there, but Allison was- She- She’d gotten hurt pretty bad.”

Five was staring at him.

“Pogo told me about the nannies once we got Allison taken care of,” He finished.

Dad quirked an eyebrow, “The nannies.”

Luther swallowed and nodded, keeping his eyes on the antique brass ink pots on his desk, “She killed them with her powers when she was four. I- uh- I didn’t take it well, and when she showed up looking for Allison, I kind of lost it.”

“Elaborate,” Their dad said tersely.

Luther flinched, “She was upset… And I- I knocked her out by asphyxiating her and locked her in the room you made her in the basement.” Luther stared at the floor, wishing it would swallow him whole.

He could practically feel Five twitching in controlled rage. It belatedly dawned on Luther that they hadn’t actually told him what happened, though he’d obviously found out the gist of it. He’d been mad enough that morning- Wait. Dad didn’t know. Five hadn’t  _ told  _ him?

One of dad’s pens clicked against the desk and he exhaled loudly, “I’m very disappointed in you.. Luther.”

He looked up, startled, to find calm fury in the eyes of a man he had wrongly trusted for most of his life.

“I take it the room was not enough to contain her?” Their father asked Five.

The brunet shook his head, “She collapsed the academy on the way out. She isn’t aware of anything that happened after Luther locked her up.”

Their father didn’t look surprised, “Her powers are strongly tied to her emotions. It would not surprise me if her mind locked her away during a particularly strong outburst to protect her.”

Luther’s shoulders slumped with guilt. He hadn’t been thinking of that when they’d confronted her at the concert. He’d just been trying to minimize casualties and contain what he’d perceived as a threat as quickly as possible. He’d pushed the fact that it was his sister they were fighting aside to deal with later and he shouldn’t have. 

He should have listened to Allison.

“I assume that this was not the extent of it,” Their father added expectantly. He was definitely mad.

Luther winced. No, he’d definitely made the situation worse, “She left to go perform at a concert. We cornered her there and Allison fired a shot off next to her ear while we had her distracted. It… Didn’t go well.”

Their father huffed, “No, I imagine not.” He folded his hands in front of himself, “I understand that you were upset at Vanya for hurting Allison, but that does not excuse your behavior. Do you understand why?”

“What she did was an accident,” Luther said with no small amount of regret, “My actions aggravated an already tense situation and, as a result, I got people killed and endangered my siblings.”

Dad hummed his agreement but he looked disappointed by the answer, “It’s a start. It would seem that you have as much to learn about family as I do.”

Luther blinked in shock and distantly realized that his father wasn’t going to blow up at him for his actions. It was… unsettling- almost  _ worse _ than getting yelled at.

His father straightened and picked his pen back up, “Now, I have tests to write and you have things to discuss, no doubt. You are dismissed.”

Luther turned woodenly towards the door in time to see Five shake his head with a quiet sigh. He didn’t pause to wait for him though, so he missed the nod the two exchanged behind his back.

 

Across town in their hotel, Jack tapped a finger along the edge of the file, “There are bits missing.”

The Veiled woman shrugged, “What more do you want to know? He’s a distinguished member of our organization, with advanced strategic and tactical planning, and we have to kill him.”

Jack grimaced and closed the file, “Habits, motivation. Where does he sleep. How does he sleep? Are there people we can exploit to get to him? Elizabeth it working on them, but I would think that an organization that deals in something so delicate would take more care to know it’s agents.”

The Veiled woman turned away from where she was examining her newly arrived luggage with a frown, “Who?”

Jack sighed with a roll of her eyes, “Number Five killed thirty agents and you really think they’d send  _ me  _ in with only a rookie like  _ you  _ for backup? You may be fairly accomplished for your time, but you’re just a cog in a machine here.”

“I like to know who I’m working with,” The Veiled woman replied flatly.

Jack  _ smirked  _ with a wicked glint in her eye, “Someone who makes Number Five look like a harmless kitten.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five was offering Reginald visual cues the whole conversation. This is the only reason he didn’t rip into Luther for locking Vanya up because even he gets that that would be a tremendously stupid idea. (Ironically)  
> Oh, look! A double negative.  
> The one and only time Five makes a situation simpler by talking about it.  
> This would be longer, but song change.  
> Thanks for reading and giving feedback, guys! You're all awesome! :D


	7. Shrike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siblings be siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Shrike by Hozier

Five was honestly surprised at how well that conversation had gone. He’d expected their father to be more upset at the fact that he had left out information when they’d talked before. He had also expected Luther to have a shred of self preservation and keep the incident with Vanya to himself. In retrospect, he probably shouldn’t have. Luther had always been an insufferable goodie two shoes, though, Five distinctly remembered him starting to ease up when they were older. He wondered what happened to change that.

At least their dad had listened to him and not gone full tilt on Luther like he’d wanted to. It wouldn’t have gotten them anywhere if he’d just yelled. By explaining, he gave Luther a better chance of learning from his mistakes.

Though, Five definitely understood the desire to ring his brother’s neck.

“Hey, Five?”

The brunet looked up with a frown.

Luther shuffled uncomfortably, “Did you tell dad that I…?”

“Locked our sister in a soundproof room under the house?” He asked, “Why didn’t you tell him Vanya hurt Allison?”

“Because it would get her in trouble and she’s gone through enough as it is,” Luther replied as if that conclusion were obvious. 

Five let his brother interpret the following silence as he saw fit. In truth, that was only half of it. Five hadn’t said anything in part because Milton Greene never existed. He hadn’t quite worked out  _ why _ Luther’s death was so far up the list by the time his brother had been holding Delores out his bedroom window, but he hadn’t been able to pull the trigger anyway.

He couldn’t really bring himself to regret it, homicidal impulses be damned.

They stopped near the top of the stairs.

Luther looked on the verge of saying something that would probably have Five rolling his eyes or wanting to punch him in the face but the blond never got to say it.

At that moment, Klaus came careening around the corner in Mom’s heels with a huge grin on his face, “Ready!”

The pair frowned at him in utter bewilderment as Ben-  _ Ben- _ called, “Go!” from the bottom.

Klaus went clomping down the stairs in the shoes that were much too large for his feet.

Luther and Five leaned over the banister to watch Klaus stumble his way at top speed towards the waiting Diego and Ben with a stopwatch.

“Shouldn’t we-” Luther started.

Klaus made it to the last three steps and tripped on a heel, crashing face first into the bottom floor.

All onlookers grimaced in sympathy except Diego.

“I told you it was a bad idea,” He remarked.

Klaus flipped him off without moving from his sprawled position.

Five straightened and exchanged a look with Luther before they left the scene before they caught their siblings’ stupidity.

 

Vanya leaned carefully over Allison’s hand, drawing a careful stroke of paint along her fingernail.

After swapping apologies again, Allison had sat her down and had spied the box of nail polish by her desk. 

Allison sneezed and the brush slipped, “Oh. Sorry.”

Vanya smiled and they wound up laughing at the shoddy paint job, “I don’t really…”

Allison shook her head with a smile, “They’re beautiful, Vanya.”

A small smile spread shyly across her sister’s face, “You don’t have to say that.”

“Well, I sneezed, so…” Allison shrugged, “You want to do the other hand?”

Vanya quirked a brow, “You sure?”

“Yeah,” Allison grinned, “This way, they’ll at least match.”

Vanya snorted and started in on Allison’s other hand, “Don’t blame me if we have to clean nail polish out of your comforter.”

“Oh, no. That’s what Klaus is for,” She smirked. 

Vanya raised her eyebrows at that.

“He’s done it before,” Allison said dismissively, “Mom won’t care.”

Vanya nodded and went back to painting, “Do you think we’re going to stay here- in this time, I mean.”

Allison frowned, “I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it. Can we even  _ go  _ back? There aren’t doubles of us, which means we’re actually  _ in  _ our thirteen year old bodies.”

“Failing at painting fingernails in our thirteen year old bodies,” Vanya added.

Allison snorted, “Yeah.”

Vanya pursed her lips and tried to keep the brush steady.

“Are you getting  _ any  _ on my nails?” Allison asked.

Vanya straightened and the bottle tipped over to their mutual dismay, spilling beige liquid on the comforter.

“Shit,” Allison declared at the same time as Vanya.

“Sorry,” Vanya muttered, lips twitching, while she righted the bottle.

Allison pressed her lips into a firm line to keep from smiling. They both failed and Mom found them still snickering not long after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah! I keep forgetting they're in their thirteen year old bodies.  
> *Throws fluff*  
> *singing* I have no impulse control after 10  
> It will pick up next chapter. :)  
> Be warned, it may get really dark.


	8. Killer Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Hazel appears. Swearing happens. Lots of swearing. Not all on screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Killer Queen by Queen

“But I’m telling you, they’re out to get us,” Jack said, while The Veiled Woman popped a piece of broccoli in her mouth with her chopsticks, “Sendin’ me out with  _ that  _ lunatic and you- no offense.”

“None taken,” The Veiled Woman replied with her mouth still full.

Jack made a face but went on, “Don’t get me wrong. She’s good at her job, but put her in a room of  _ people _ ,” She scoffed in disgust and took a bite of beef lo mien, “You’d think a member of nobility would be better at being  _ noble _ .”

The Veiled Woman hummed in acknowledgement.

“You don’t have a problem behaving around polite company, do you?” Jack asked with a grimace.

The Veiled Woman quirked a brow.

Two knocks kept her from answering as the door opened and a Woman in a flowery dress and heels came clomping in. Her deep brown hair was swept up in a ponytail with silver wisps at her temples and a scowl marring her face, “ _ Why  _ did you have to put me in heels? I’ve never had a more impractical set of-” She stumbled, heel tilting sideways, “Bagolygeci!” She hissed and wrenched the offending shoe off her foot to throw across the room.

The Veiled Woman watched the black heel make a graceful arch over the two beds and clatter against the corner walls.

“What’s this?” The brunet asked, waving at The Veiled Woman.

Jack met The Veiled Woman’s gaze and rolled her eyes, “Elizabeth Báthory, meet our new partner. We’re still working out the name.”

The Veiled Woman cast a surprised glance at Jacqueline, “The Bloody Countess? I thought she was dead.”

Elizabeth snorted indelicately, “What’s the saying? Rumors of my death were… Greatly exaggerated.” 

“And we’re very happy for you,” Jack said without a hint of sincerity, “What did you find?”

“Someone’s changed the timeline already,” Elizabeth said with a disgruntled frown, “The children apparently have names now.”

“We knew that already,” Jack replied.

“Then you know Five is injured,” Elizabeth challenged.

The Veiled Woman leaned over the table, take out forgotten, “Oh? Do tell.”

The other brunette worked her remaining heel off and tossed it on the closest bed, “He was sitting out of exercises and he favored his right side. That’s not the important part, though. Hargreeves actually addressed the brats by their names.”

The Veiled Woman quirked an eyebrow, “So?”

The action earned her a disgruntled look, “So, if he gets his act together, the apocalypse is off and we’re out of a job.”

“Dead, you mean,” Jack corrected with a casual wave of her fork.

“Well, she’s not  _ wrong _ , per se,” The Veiled woman pointed out.

“If she is, and we kill him too soon, it’ll fuck  _ everything _ up,” Jack countered.

There was a hiss and a thunk from the large box in the corner and all three women looked at it like the appliance might get up and start talking.

Jack put her fork down with an irritated, “Oh, for God’s sake,” and stalked across the room to open it.

She pulled a canister out and the Veiled Woman tilted her head to the side so she could see inside the box. It looked like what Human Resources had explained was a fridge but smaller. Fascinating.

“We’ve got another objective,” Jack said, drawing her attention away from her musings. The silver haired woman held the sheet from the canister up like they could read it from the distances they were at, “It says terminate Hazel and Agnes. Gear is in the lobby.”

Elizabeth and the Veiled Woman stared at her uncomprehending.   
“Equipment,” Jack corrected tersely, “You two handle this. I’ll set up a test for the Hargreeves.”

The Veiled Woman started for the doors with the Countess following.

“Shoes, Báthory,” Jack called after them.

Elizabeth cursed and the Veiled Woman smiled.

 

Not nearly as far away as they should be, a couple of birdwatchers appeared outside a gas station on an empty road.

“So, where to first?” Hazel asked.

Agnes grinned now that they were away from the Commission and relatively safe, “Well, we never got to our first stop.”

Hazel’s lips quirked, “No, we did not.” He reached in his pocket for the map and frowned, “Shit. Do you have the map?”

Realization dawned on Agnes’ face and her brow pinched in something between concern and thought, “Oh, no. I don’t. We could get another. We’re in a different time anyway, right?”

Hazel nodded.

“When are we?” She asked with an excited glint in her eye and a conspiratorial whisper.

Hazel grinned, “2001.”

Agnes muttered an awed, “Wow,” and looked at the near empty countryside around them.

Hazel had taken them to the gas station to avoid making too much of a stir. He had to agree with her.

Wildflowers were blooming in the grass by the road and there were birds flitting around all over the place. The sky was bright blue and nearly cloudless, though it could've been storming for all Hazel cared. 

Agnes was _ beaming _ at the avian activity and it sent something light fluttering through his chest.

“We should see if there are any good bird watching sites around here,” She said.

“First, we should find a hotel,” He said with small smile, “I can do that while you get another map. They might have guides on bird watching locations too.”

Agnes grinned, “Sounds good to me.”

 

After a harrowing conversation with the hotel receptionist in which the Veiled Woman actually found herself defending the poor thing. The two assassins caught a cab because, between the two of them, the Veiled Woman was better at operating the tracking device and there was no way she was going to trust the countess from a completely different century to operate a motor vehicle. 

The fact that she, herself had similarly “died” sixty five years before the first automobile had been invented was a moot point. Neither of them were behind the wheel. She was happy about this.

In any case, they were closing in on their target. She had no time to be musing over technological advances that she’d missed. She could do that later.

 

“Okay, so it looks like that still exists,” Agnes said, pointing at a place on the map.

Hazel nodded sagely and marked it before straightening with a frown. There was a car idling outside in the hotel parking lot and two sets of heels were drawing closer to their door.

Hazel shifted closer towards the back of the room slightly, keeping himself between Agnes and the door. 

She cast him an odd glance but brushed the new closeness off.

The footsteps stopped outside their door and the two women exchanged what sounded like potentially heated words.

Hazel put a hand on Agnes’ arm to get her attention and gestured for her to get the briefcase just in case. 

She cast a worried glance towards the door and that’s when the women outside came to an decision.

The door exploded inward with a black-heeled foot. 

Hazel flipped the coffee table and dragged Agnes down with him.

The wall burst in a series of loud pops, showering dust on them. Hazel wrenched his side arm out and fired over the table without getting up.

The table shuddered under their return fire but held for now.

They needed to get out. Now. He only had one spare clip and he would bet they had more.

Hazel fired another three rounds to keep them from coming around the table while Agnes fumbled with the briefcase.

“I don’t know how to work this,” She hissed frantically.

Hazel turned the gun in his hand and offered it to her, “Point and squeeze.”

She took it with a shaky hand and wide eyes but there was a determined edge to the way she held herself so he tugged the briefcase closer.

Hazel fumbled with the coordinates.

He heard more shots. One of the women at the door cursed and he grabbed Agnes’ arm and activated the briefcase.

 

“Dammit!” Elizabeth snarled, gun hand pressed firmly against the tear in her sleeve.

The Veiled Woman stepped into the room to scoop up the map their targets had been examining, “Let’s go. We’re not going to make anymore headway here.”

 

Ben knocked hesitantly on Five’s door.

After explaining their bet and the  _ reasons _ for their bet to a disappointed Mom, Ben, Klaus and Diego had split up. The later two going off to make cookies with Mom, leaving Ben to drift aimlessly around the house. After a while, it had started to remind him of the first few months after he’d been dead and he’d found himself in front of Five’s room. 

“Come in,” Five called from inside. 

Ben opened the door to find Five scribbling in a book at his desk and Luther sitting in the adjacent armchair with a copy of the ‘The Genealogy of Morality’ that Five had never actually touched, “You starting a book club or something?”

Luther’s lips quirked upward.

“Allison and Vanya are busy and you three were being… Rowdy,” Five said absently, “I needed to think.”

Ben looked over at Luther, more surprised at Five’s acceptance of his presence than him actually being there, and nodded. He had picked Five because he knew it would be relatively quiet, after all. He loved his siblings, but sometimes they were too much.

Ben crossed over to the shelf by Luther, “What problem are you working on now?”

Five sighed and Ben heard him set down his pencil. He was scrubbing a hand over his face when Ben turned around.

“Maybe we can help,” The former ghost added.

“I’m trying to think of a way to stop the Commission,” Five explained.

“Your employers?” Luther asked.

Ben shot him a surprised look only for the blond to shake his head. Ben turned his alarmed gaze back to Five because:  **_What?!_ **

Five just nodded without looking away from the wall in front of him, “They’ll be sending someone to take care of anyone who intends to mess with the timeline. Namely, Me, Ben, and maybe Dad if he keeps listening to Grace’s parenting tips.”

“What?” Ben asked. He was pretty sure he was making a face.

“Why would he do that?” Luther asked. Ben agreed.

Five rolled his eyes and finally looked at them with an exasperation Ben had missed, if he was being perfectly honest.

“Irrelevant,” Five said, “If they succeed, everything we’ve tried to accomplish so far goes up in smoke.”

“Not to mention dieing is very unpleasant,” Ben remarked dryly.

Luther cast him a guilty look and Five nodded in agreement.

Ben hoped that wasn’t from experience.

“So, what’s protocol for this?” Luther asked, focusing them again.

“They’ll send someone to assess the situation,” Five explained, “Probably a few days before any anomaly shows up. If the situation requires intervention, they’ll make a recommendation.”

“So, not necessarily death,” Luther said, clearly trying to stay positive.

Five gave him an unimpressed look, “Probably not for you. They still need you to set Vanya off.”

Luther reared back with an offended scowl, “Do they really think I’d try to hurt her  _ twice _ ?”

“It probably won’t  _ be  _ twice if they kill Five,” Ben pointed out.

Luther turned his scowl on Ben.

“He’s right,” Five said, “This body exists across several instances of time. They kill one…” He snapped his fingers, “Nothing I’ve done after age thirteen happened. No Commission. No funeral.”

“No bringing us back,” Luther finished in grave realization.

Five nodded, “Exactly.”

Luther slumped back into his chair with a loud exhale and Ben sat down on the box at the foot of Five’s bed, “Shit,” the pair said with an air of muted horror. 

Five snorted and turned back to his book, “As far as I can tell, the best way to beat them- at least right now- is to get a hold of one of their briefcases. Then we can take the fight to them.”

 

Jack was just hanging up the phone when they got back. 

Elizabeth stalked into the room, still spitting mad, while the Veiled Woman followed at a more sedate pace.

“How did it go?” Jack asked, though from her expression, she already knew.

“They fucking jumped!” Elizabeth snapped.

Jack turned to the Veiled Woman for an explanation and she shrugged, holding a lighter to the end of the cigarette in its holder, “They had a briefcase. I’m sure they’ll turn up somewhere.”

Jack nodded, “We can call HQ and ask them to track it.”

“You’re awfully  _ calm _ ,” Elizabeth practically growled.

Jack shrugged and shuffled the many papers of Five’s file, “The test is all set up. All that’s left to do is wait, see if they’re really the dysfunctional nitwits we were told to expect, or if we have to kill Five two years early.”

The Veiled Woman blew out a breath of smoke and smiled, “Can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five is going to drive Ben to an early grave.  
> 16 years, 4months, and 14 days before March 24 is *November 9, 2002. (this said December before. I suck at math. Sorry)  
> Bagolygeci: Son of an owl (basically son of a bitch)  
> Table wood is about an inch or two thick which is plenty for stopping bullets.  
> Lavinia Fisher: Born 1793 Hung by the neck until dead: February 18, 1820  
> Jack the Ripper: Born unknown Dead: unknown  
> Elizabeth Bathory AKA The Bloody Countess, or Countess Dracula: August 7, 1560 Died in her sleep: August 21, 1614 She had been imprisoned for the previous four years for torturing and killing around 650 young women, though the exact number is debated. She was originally buried in the church cemetery of Čachtice, but her body was moved to her hometown due to local protests. It’s location is now unknown.  
> The invention of the automobile is sometimes credited to Karl Benz between 1885 and 1886


	9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The author tries to DM and fails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen

“Enter,” Reginald called through the thick oak door of his office.

Grace quietly slipped inside, clicking the door shut behind her.

“Grace,” He said. She wasn't sure if the change in tones her programs picked up was surprise or something caught in his throat. There was a 60% chance it was the former and an 80% chance he would alter her subroutines if she asked.

She didn't, “The children are downstairs discussing something called a Commission. They mentioned a risk of being attacked here.”

Reginald stared at her, calculating.

Her internal processors ran a hundred scenarios where she didn't walk out of the room.

“The Commission is a time travel organization that monitors human activity throughout history,” Reginald.

Her processor glitched and she tilted her head to the side with a small frown. He was not usually this forthcoming.

“Number-  _ Fievel _ became involved with them due to… Unfortunate circumstances.” 

“You've  _ got  _ to be kidding me. We've still gotta deal with those yahoos?” Diego groaned, “The apocalypse is over. We stopped it.”

Klaus pointed one of his knitting needles at Diego from his seat on the couch, “And Vanya knows now.”

“Well, technically-” Luther started.

“No one asked you, number  _ one _ ,” Diego cut him off with a finger jabbed in his direction.

Allison shot Diego an irritated look, “How do we know they’re coming for us, anyway? It’s not like we’re running around as adults. We actually existed like this at this point in time,” Her words became more uncertain and she cast Ben an uncertain glance like he was qualified to explain the physics of time travel to her.

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He wanted to leave the room, but, if he did that, when they inevitably made the dumbass decision they were leading up to, there would be no one to supervise.

“We're in the _ past,” _ Five nearly growled, stepping between the two with a tense posture that spelled trouble if the situation couldn't be diffused soon, “Whether or not our actions prevent the end of times is irrelevant. Whether or not we  _ existed  _ here is irrelevant. The Commission will come for us. We need to be ready.”

“Right,” Diego deadpanned, “Because you just had to run off and become a time traveling assassin.”

Ben, Klaus, and, surprisingly, Luther stiffened at the remark.

Five reared back with a downright _ wounded _ expression- for those who could actually read him. His hands clenched into fists at his side's while the muscles in his jaw twitched against saying something he might regret. The others probably thought he was two seconds from murdering their brother.

“That was too far, Diego,” Luther said firmly.

“No, he's right,” Five said in a carefully controlled tone, “But it  _ doesn't  _ change the fact that they're a threat, or that I know their protocols. So, pay  _ attention _ .”

“You have questions,” Reginald stated.

Grace nodded, “Why are you telling me this?”

Reginald sighed, “I've been-” He took off his monocle and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily, “I'm not sure I can protect them anymore. We both know you've done a better job of it so far, anyway.”

Grace watched the guilt and grief play out across her maker's face.

“I'm afraid I make a terrible father,” He concluded.

The children would agree with this sentiment. Grace would agree if her programming didn't prevent her from saying it. “There’s definitely room for improvement,” is as close as she can get to what she really wants to say.

Reginald huffed and cleared his throat, shifting in his chair, “Yes, well, we have other problems to deal with at the moment. We can sort out my parental skills once the children are safe.”

“Alright,” Grace conceded and froze as one of her programs alerted her to strange activity in the house.

Reginald noticed her change in demeanor and straightened.

“We have intruders.”

“You’re seriously going- It doesn’t  _ matter! _ ” Five snarled, “They’ll come for us out of spite, at this point.” He looked fit to explode and to put it frankly, Klaus could relate, though, he was tempted to see where the situation would go. Luther was twitching uncomfortably behind the little psycho like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to restrain him or help.

Diego cocked an eyebrow, “Speaking from experience?”

Klaus looked up from the third stitch of his latest row. Maybe he should intervene. Diego was close enough to fall on him if Five decided murder was a good argument.

Allison and Vanya seemed to have similar sentiments, though they didn’t make a move yet.

“ _ Yes,”  _ Five growled, “You haven’t met my-” His gaze snapped up, eyes wide in a look Klaus had never seen before and then he was jumping through space and Klaus was getting tackled off the couch by a hundred pounds of murder. 

He would deny that the shriek of terror was him to the day that he died- speaking of…

The couch where he was exploded in a hail of bullets as everyone else scattered.

Five disappeared off Klaus the second they hit the ground and the medium scrambled as far from the couch as possible, distantly aware of the rapid blue flashes and screams coming from the balcony on the other side of the room.

He crawled over to the thick pillar behind the couch before he even tried to see if the others were okay.

Ben and Diego were hiding under the table behind the couch Klaus and Ben had been sitting on. Vanya and Allison were behind the stupid double set of pillars near the fireplace.

Klaus craned his head around his own pillar in time to see two of the three guys on the other walkway get mowed down in a hail of gunfire. Well, shit. He hoped Five wasn’t up there.

The last man straightened and then was yanked back to the floor with a shriek.

Klaus ducked behind his pillar again and looked over at the girls.

He was fine.

Allison shot him a wide eyed look.

Klaus gave her two thumbs up then noticed movement in the door frame behind her, “Look out!”

The three of them dove out of the way as the men in the door opened fire.

“Diego!” Allison yelled. 

Klaus shot his brother a panicked look and flinched when a chunk of broken pillar flew too close.

Diego met his gaze with a similarly terrified expression and drew one of his knives to throw.

Before he could, the gunfire stopped with a cacophony of panicked shouting from beyond the door. 

Klaus peered around the pillar. The closest guy ran into the room and spun around, aiming his gun at whatever was in the next room just as one of the others was thrown in. The body hit him before he could pull the trigger and they went down right next to the metal spiral staircase by Allison and Vanya’s pillars.

Vanya yelped.

Allison glanced over her shoulder and ran over to kick the guy in the head before he could shove his buddy off of him.

“Oh, dear, what a mess,” A new voice said from the doorway.

Klaus tensed, even being able to see who it was as Allison whirled on her heel.

“ _ Mom?” _ Diego called in disbelief.

Their mom smiled at them and brushed a stray curl out of her face, “Are all of you alright?”

Klaus leaned further over to look at the four bodies behind her.

There was a crack, scream and a thud above them.

“Yeah,” Vanya smiled.

A single gunshot rang out and then there was another thud.

“Are  _ you? _ ” Diego asked, casting a weary glance at the railing where the noise had come from.

Her smile widened, “Of course!”

“We should probably move to a different location,” Five said, limping down the spiral  staircase with their father toting a rifle behind him, “I doubt they would only send-” He looked past Mom with a disinterest that had always bugged Klaus, “Thirteen men after us.”

“Agreed,” Dad said, eyeing the poor guy on the ground with his usual level of disdain.

Klaus stared at him in shock but ultimately shook his head as Five made the bottom of the stairs and lightly kicked the guy Allison and Mom had taken down together.

They guy groaned.

“Shit,” Diego hissed.

Five hummed.

“Luther, if you would take our uninvited guest to the basement,” Dad said.

Great. Torture, because  _ that  _ was what mature adults did with their time.

At least Luther looked uncomfortable about it. He still dragged the guy out of the room though, so maybe he wasn’t as morally advanced as Klaus thought.

“Grace, if you would tell Pogo to call the authorities while you check the perimeter, it would be appreciated,” Dad continued.

Klaus straightened, pleasantly surprised.

Across the street, The Veiled Woman took a sip of her coffee and watched Number Five make a wide gesture then curl around his injuries as he talked to his siblings.

“Get everything you wanted?” Elizabeth asked from her seat beside The Veiled Woman.

Jack huffed, “Enough. Terminating him shouldn’t be too difficult.”

The Veiled Woman hummed, “Pity. I thought he was going to be a challenge.”

“Don’t get cocky,” Jack said, “We’re just cogs in a machine. We make a mistake, they can easily replace us.”

The Veiled Woman raised her coffee cup in the other’s direction, “Noted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made character sheets. I also made like five rolls. Five was one good hit from being bloodied, so I gave up.   
> Five is a Warlock with a knife, a stick, and spite as his weapons of choice.  
> I hate that room. So much. WHY does it have the double pillars? And why are they diagonal from each other? Everything else is symmetrical. Or at least as symmetrical as it can get.  
> *mourning Klaus’ knitting*  
> Yes. Fievel. Five for short. Because Five thinks Fievel is a baby name. It means bright and radiant and has Yiddish and Greek origins.  
> Diego taking a stab at Five's former employment wasn’t just to be mean, by the way. He tends to lash out for people’s weak spots when they’ve upset him but I’m not going to go over it here, because then I’ll think I covered it in the story and forget to add it in.


	10. Love of My Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to get yelled at for this. I can tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love of My Life by Queen




Five glanced over his shoulder for the thousandth time to make sure he wasn’t being followed by anyone. Ben was a good thirty paces back but he ducked behind a few pedestrians too slow to escape Five’s notice. He thought he was being sneaky but he was the only tail.

Five let him entertain the thought and ducked inside Gimble Brothers with his heart in his throat. 

Delores was exactly where he’d first met her, tall and proud in the center display, gazing passively at onlookers with a pleasant smile. She was wearing a loose red dress, belted at the waist, and the same red wig he’d found her in the second time around.

Five hung back in the clothing racks across from her. After hours of arguing with his siblings and his father, he’d needed a break. He’d needed to see her again. Just this once. She’d been his constant companion for so long-

Five shook his head and turned away with tense shoulders. His eyes stung. This was stupid. She was with her friends. She didn’t need him bringing any more danger into her life. She probably wouldn’t even recognize him.

“Excuse me, can I help you find something?” A girl in her late teens asked.

Five tensed and furrowed his brow and decided that he wasn’t ready to face Delores just yet, “No, I’m looking for my brother.”

She blinked and looked around before pointing across the store, “Boy’s section is that way.”

Five followed her gaze and offered her a tight lipped smile he’d been told was unnerving, “So it is.”

The girl nodded slowly and backed away.

Five cast Delores one last glance before heading towards the edge of the women’s section where he could see Ben lurking.

He watched in hollow amusement as his brother realized he was coming and scrambled to escape the store without being noticed.

Ben cleared the front doors and Five appeared in front of him with an uncaring mask.

The slightly smaller boy yelped and tripped over his feet to wind up falling on his ass, “ _ Five,” _ He grumbled. 

“You need to work on your stealth,” Five said, rather than apologize for scaring him. It had more or less been his goal and Ben shouldn’t have been snooping anyway.

Ben glowered up at him, “You’re such a dick.”

“It’s been mentioned,” Five remarked and offered him a hand up, “Why were you following me?”

Ben frowned, brushing himself off, “I can’t be worried?”

“You  _ can,” _ Five said and started off towards home.

“I am,” Ben declared, “You didn’t exactly stop for breaks the first time around.”

“I only had a week the first time,” Five replied.

“My  _ point  _ is you have help this time,” Ben continued, “You don’t need to go off by yourself.”

Five quirked an eyebrow at him then crossed the street with his brother trotting after him like a worried mother.

“You know what I mean,” Ben growled.

“I know,” Five sighed but didn’t stop, “I just needed a break from…” He waved a hand with a grimace, “Them.”

He sensed more than saw Ben nod in agreement, “They’re loud.”

“And stubborn,” Five added.

“All of us are stubborn.”

“ _ Obnoxiously  _ stubborn,” Five put in.

“...Yeah,” Ben agreed, trotting a few steps to get slightly ahead, “But you egg them on.”

“Being  _ right _ is not egging them on,” Five scowled.

Ben cast him a long suffering look, “Being stubborn is.”

Five opened his mouth to retort and closed it, turning his gaze staunchly forward. This conversation would get him nowhere.

“They have good reason to be skeptical,” Ben said gently, “Yelling at them doesn’t help them understand.”

“I don’t know how else to  _ explain  _ it!” Five said, pace quickening in line with his mood.

Ben jogged to catch up, likely not expecting it.

Five forced himself to slow down for his brother but he remained tense.

“Then let me help,” Ben offered, “We both know my people skills aren’t as… rusty as yours. I can coach you through what to say.”

Five shot him a glare but sighed in defeat, “Fine.” 

 

“Hey, Vanya, have you seen Ben?” Klaus asked.

Vanya turned away from the doorway to Five’s room with a confused frown, “No. I can’t find Five either. Maybe they’re together.”

Klaus seemed to consider this, “Maybe. They use to talk physics when we were kids.”

Vanya’s lips quirked upward at that, “As opposed to years later when we were adults.”

Klaus snorted and held out a hand, “Come on. They might’ve gone outside.”

 

“You’re sure they’ll show up?” Elizabeth asked over a cup of tea Jack had forced her to get.

The Brit sighed and The Veiled Woman smirked into her coffee, “ _ Yes, _ Elizabeth. They have to unless Five forces his brother to climb a fire escape.”

“Why doesn’t he just teleport them both inside?” She pressed stubbornly.

“Mister Five has not shown the ability to teleport alongside other people,” The Veiled Woman said without taking her eyes off the street. It would ruin their chance to move things along if Jack decided to kill her now.

Elizabeth grunted and settled in to wait.

 

“You can’t say that,” Ben said flatly.

Five scowled and rounded on his brother as they came onto their street, “Why not?”

“Because it’s  _ insulting _ ! You know Luther and Diego stop listening when you insult them.”

Five scoffed.

“At least  _ as well _ ,” Ben amended, “And this is complicated shit. You need their full attention.”

Five sighed, “What would  _ you  _ say then?”

Ben frowned, clearly put on the spot, “Well, I wouldn’t say  _ that.” _

Five rolled his eyes and continued walking.

“Okay, how about you explain the protocols,” Ben said, running to catch up to him again.

Five caught a glimpse of their gate before he turned back to his brother with raised eyebrows.

 

“They’re here,” The Veiled Woman said.

Elizabeth pushed her chair back with a loud scrape, “ _ Finally.” _

“I trust you both know what to do,” Jack remarked coldly.

The Veiled Woman’s lips pulled up into a red smile, “Go for the weak spot.”

 

“You can write them down,” Ben pointed out, walking backwards ahead of Five so they were facing, “If the others don’t get it, Dad will and he can up the security or something.”

Five nodded begrudgingly and looked past his brother so he wouldn’t run into anyone. His heart stopped and cold fear shot through his veins.

“Five?”

The woman ten feet behind Ben smirked waving with the hand not holding the black briefcase at her side.

Sound seemed to fall away as he drew to a stand still, scanning the crowd frantically for her partner. Distantly, he was aware his behavior was scaring Ben, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. They needed to get out of here, regroup.

Five took a step towards his brother and heard a crack somewhere behind him.

Ben dropped with a yelp, clutching his leg above the knee.

Five stumbled forward, “Ben!”

Ben’s gaze jerked up to meet Five’s and his eyes widened, “Five.”

Five took another clumsy step and his legs went out from under him, sending him to the pavement face first.

“Five!”

He pressed his forehead into the concrete with gritted teeth and tried to push himself upward only for his side to flair in fresh pain. The world blurred and the sidewalk was suddenly a lot closer until hands were suddenly snaking around his neck to pull him up.

Ben was on the ground mere feet away, barely conscious, and bleeding out.

Five struggled against the arm keeping him from his brother with weak fumbling hands, “Ben. Stay awake.”

The front door to their home burst open as he spoke and Klaus came barreling out, followed by Vanya.

The woman with the briefcase immediately went to intercept.

The person holding him let go and he fell on his side as she smacked Klaus across the face with her gun and kicked him further away. She promptly crouched back down with a frown.

Five tried to scramble away in panic but she just grabbed onto his lapels. He clawed ineffectively at her hands with his heart thudding loudly in his ears. 

She fumbled with her case as Klaus lunged for them and then they were gone.

 

Ben tried to lift his head as Vanya dropped down by his side but wound up letting out another scream when she came in contact with the wound in his leg.

“Sorry! I’m sorry,” She rambled. Was she crying?

Shit Five. Someone needed to help him, “Klaus,” Ben croaked.

“He’s not-  _ No _ !” Vanya screamed as she was yanked away from him.

Ben craned his neck to see who but he couldn’t focus.

“Vanya!” Someone- Luther? Screamed.

“Let go of her!”

“Shit.  _ Ben! _ ”

Shadows passed over his vision and someone put pressure back on his leg, but he barely felt it.

“No, no, no. Stay with me, Ben,” Allison pleaded

“Klaus.”

“He’s gone,” Someone said gravely.

Ben’s heart sank and he went with it into the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to regret not proofreading this in the morning, but I'm rarely one for good judgement calls, so....  
> Next chapter should be up soon. I've been working on it.


	11. ilomilo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every body's sad. I'm sad. Reginald's sad. Bring tissues.  
> You have been warned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title ilomilo by Billie Eilish

Klaus stumbled and fell into a pile of gravel before hopping back to his feet swinging.

That bitch with the suitcase dropped Five and stepped back to avoid him.

He kept pressing forward, staying in arm’s length of her so her gun wasn’t an advantage.

The lady growled and disappeared in a flash of blue, leaving Klaus alone in an apocalyptic wasteland.

Klaus huffed and coughed looking around at the ruins before he remembered why he’d charged the lady in the first place, “Five!” He spun on his heel, trying to catch sight of his brother. He hadn’t looked too good when Klaus and Vanya had intervened but he’d still been moving. Klaus had figured he got kicked or something, “Five!”

He stumbled back to where they’d first popped up- not that far, but there was shit in the way- and cursed loudly, “ _ Five! _ ” He scrambled for him, slipping in the gravel as he dropped to his knees, “Come on. Come on. Don’t you dare.”

There was a dark stain seeping into the back of his brother’s blazer and when he turned him over enough to see.

Five’s face was ashen, features completely slack. He looked dead already but there was a pulse at his neck when Klaus felt for it.

He sighed in relief and dropped his head onto the arm supporting Five’s shoulder, “Shit, old man, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

Five, predictably didn’t respond.

Klaus nodded like he did anyway and bunched the back of Five’s blazer up before rolling him onto it. The front wound was bigger, which meant Briefcase Bitch had shot him in the back. Probably hitting Ben in the process.

Klaus sniffed and scrubbed the back of a bloody hand over one eye to clear his vision, “Okay. Okay. We’ve got this. We’re going to get out of here.” He shrugged off his own blazer and folded the front corner of Five’s to press into the wound on his front, “We’re going to get out of here. You got that, Five? You’re going to be fine and Be-” He scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head, “Ben’s going to be fine too, okay? But you gotta wake up.”

Five didn’t so much as twitch to show he heard.

Klaus’ expectant look crumpled and he shook his head again in a vain effort to keep the water works at bay, “Nope. You’re right. I’ve got this. I’ve got this, just do me a favor and don’t die, okay? There’s plenty of dead folks around here that’ll be popping up in the next few days. I’d rather not add you to the list.” He gave his brother a watery smile and then checked the bleeding against his better judgement. It was slower. He thought. He needed to get better medical supplies than two academy blazers as soon as possible, though. He couldn’t do that while keeping pressure on the wound.

Klaus gnawed on his lip and looked around the destruction with growing anxiety. What he wouldn’t give for a ghost right now, “Oh, well. Beggars can’t be choosers,” He muttered and let go of Five’s side to hoist the smaller boy into a sitting position. He quickly wrapped his blazer’s arms around his brother, making sure to keep Five’s bunched up over the actual injuries, and tied them together tightly so there was pressure.

Klaus nodded to himself and hoped that would be enough for now as he shuffled to his feet, “I’ll be back. Don’t- just-”

He made a motion for Five to stay but didn’t look to see his non-reaction when he scrambled into the ruins of their house.

He’d be there when he got back or Klaus was going to have a thing or two to say to a certain preteen.

 

Vanya stumbled into the white room and whirled on her heel with an angry scream that shoved the woman who’d dumped her there against a pristine wall.

She watched through tear-blurred eyes as the woman fumble for her case and vanished in a flash of blue. 

Vanya quickly scanned the room in the hopes of escape and let out another wave of raw power. 

Dust rained down from the ceiling, but the room was otherwise unchanged. There was no door to blast off its hinges. Whatever the walls were made of was too strong for her to break through.

Vanya pressed her hands to her temples and curled up in a ball with a sob.

 

Klaus choked on his grief and covered his mouth to keep from crying out loud as he pushed himself back up, forcing himself not to look at the body he’d just tripped over. He knew. He  _ knew  _ they didn’t make it.

That didn’t make finding them any easier.

Rubble shifted up ahead.

Klaus’ gaze snapped to the sound and he stared with wide eyes as his mother climbed out of what would have been her grave.

She looked around her, silver blood oozing down her face, with a confused frown. 

“Klaus?” Her eyes lit with surprise when she saw him and then they skirted past him and her face nearly crumpled with grief, “Oh, Diego.”

A choked whine escaped Klaus’ throat and he quickly shook himself, “Mom.”

Her gaze snapped back to him and she came towards him, limping, but still moving with more dexterity than he’d managed in his panicked scramble for bandages, “Klaus, honey, you’re bleeding.”

He shook his head frantically and flapped an uncoordinated hand behind him, “Five- I need to find-”

She crouched in front of him and put a light hand on his shoulder, “Go back to your brother,” She said gently, “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Klaus gave a jerky nod and scrambled back to his feet.

 

Reginald quietly closed the door to the infirmary and stopped when he noticed Pogo standing wearily off to the side, “He’ll pull through.”

Pogo inclined his head with relief shining in his eyes and Reginald found himself relaxing minutely.

“Am I to presume that the children will all be spending the evening in the infirmary?” He asked.

Reginald decisively ignored the flare of warmth in his chest, “If you could bring in spare sheets, I have a call to make.”

Pogo gave a shallow bow to hide his smile as Reginald passed, “Very good, sir.”

 

Pogo stepped inside the infirmary to find Miss Allison sandwiched between Master Diego and Master Luther in the chairs set beside Master Ben’s cot. The former two children were leaned against Master Luther, snoring faintly, while he kept vigil.

Pogo offered him a gentle smile and went about making more beds, “Are you quite alright, Master Luther?”

He turned and the boy slowly looked up from his injured brother with a haunted expression that Pogo wished he could say he’d never seen on a child before.

“I- Yeah,” He choked and frowned in confusion, “I’m fine.”

Pogo hummed skeptically and started putting sheets on the beds.

“She just-  _ took  _ Vanya and we couldn’t-” He stopped himself to glance worriedly down at Allison.

“Your father is doing everything he can to help locate your siblings,” Pogo said gently. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say.

Luther cast him an aggrieved look, “They could be in a different  _ time  _ for all we know.”

Oh, dear.

Pogo set aside the remaining bedding and hobbled over to his charge to place a hand on his shoulder, “We’ll find them.” He repeated. If only they could both believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't even what I wrote originally. I wound up moving it to the next chapter...  
> It'll get better.   
> Vanya didn't kill Elizabeth because then she would be stuck inside a five by five cell with a dead body, which would suck, and she doesn't know about the briefcases because she has never been there when they were being used. For all she knows, she just found out Five's part of and alien race and Elizabeth is one of them.


	12. Lovely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus holds Five's hand without dying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title Lovely by Billie Eilish&Khalid

Klaus clutched Five’s hand to his chest and carefully held his brother up while their mom wrapped bandages around the smaller boy’s chest. He kept up a quiet stream of babble so there was something besides the soft hiss of cloth and the crackle of falling ash. 

“You know, I wish Ben were here,” Klaus mused glumly, ”He’d call us dumb asses and help you figure out a way out of here- God knows  _ I  _ won’t be much help.” Klaus snorted, “He used to follow me around after he died and nag me about my-  _ everything _ , actually. I don’t make very good life choices.”

Klaus’ heart skipped a beat and a small relieved smile flickered across his face as Five squeezed his hand back.

 

Vanya hummed to herself. It was  _ way  _ off key and pitchy from who knows how long spent crying, but sound was sound and she was mad enough to end the world all over again. 

Vanya hummed and one of her keepers entered the room in a faint pop that she used to associate with Five’s jumps. When she opened her eyes, they glowed white. 

The woman who brought food didn’t have time to scream. She hit the wall behind her with a sickening crack and slumped to the the floor, lifeless.

Vanya lurched forward and fumbled with the briefcase before finally getting it open. She disappeared in a flash.

 

Five blinked tired glazed eyes at the gray sky. Smoke stung his dulled senses and sent a curl of anxiety through his shoulders but he didn’t have the energy to act on it. There was something else. Something important he was forgetting.

A shadow passed over him and he dimly registered it as Mom giving him a tight smile that was supposed to be a reassurance, “How are you feeling?” 

Five furrowed his brow and his hand moved for the lump of fabric on his side. What?

Mom grabbed his hand with a firm look before flashing that smile again, “Don’t touch that, sweety. It’s there to help you.” The smile looked creepy paired with whatever the hell was dripping down her face. Was that  _ blood _ ?

He frowned and his other hand came up to hover over the cut in her forehead, “You’re hurt?” His fingers accidentally brushed her, coming away dark silver.

She glanced at them before smiling reassuringly, “Don’t worry about me. It’s just a scratch.”

He shifted but her gentle hand on his chest and the angry spike of pain in his side stopped him. The anxiety and nagging sense ratcheted up a notch but he shoved them aside, “I can fix it. You don’t heal and we can get more.”

“You should be resting,” She said firmly.

“Won’t move. Can you pass me a suture kit?” He asked. His fingers felt tacky and he had to force himself to keep his eyes on her.

“We shouldn’t waste the resources,” She protested.

“Please?” He asked, voice not nearly as steady as he wanted it to be.

Mom sighed, accepting that he wasn’t going to let it go.

Five took the kit from her and set to work, relaxing slightly now that he had something to focus on besides-

Mom leaned down so he could easily reach the tear, “Are you in any pain?”

Five hummed absently and snipped the thread on his third stitch, “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“Five,” She chided.

“I’ll live,” He replied and froze as his whole chest was seized by a strong  _ ache _ . The nagging turned to a sharp pain in his nose that had his eyes watering of their own accord because he remembered.

He remembered watching uselessly as Ben slowly bled to death while he did  _ nothing. _

He remembered burying his siblings in the rubble he lay in now.

“Five?” Mom called softly.

He had to blink several times to meet her gaze properly, “They’re all gone.”

Mom offered him a sad smile and his vision blurred with tears, “Shh, hey, not all. Klaus is here. He’s just getting supplies.”

Five scrubbed the back of a bloody hand over one eye with a frown, “He okay?”

Mom’s smile broadened, “Yes, sweety. He’s fine. And very worried about you.”

Five furrowed his brow in confusion but decided not to ask.

“Are you okay?” She asked in the space left by his silence.

Five considered her question, fumbling with the suture needle that had fallen on his chest, “I don’t know.”

The twitch of her lips wasn’t quite a smile as she allowed him to resume stitching her up.

“We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”

Vanya landed with a stumble and looked around in alarm. Dry acrid wind tugged her hair into her face, making it difficult to see. When she finally got it in control enough to fully take in her surroundings past all the smoke, her heart dropped.

She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vanya hasn’t suddenly fine tuned her powers. She didn’t have anything she needed to avoid hitting, so she just riled herself up and let loose when she had a target. She got fed up and decided to wing it, dead body be damned.  
> It’s very hard to write a serious scene when the Ballroom Blitz comes on out of nowhere  
> And Grace survived because YOU DON’T. WIRE. A ROBOT. IN SERIES, REGINALD!!  
> Yes, Five has blood all over his face now, because he had to drag that hand through a puddle of blood to grab at Fisher's arm so the back is bloody too.


	13. Monster vs. Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben just wanted some breakfast, damnit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Monster vs. Angel by WDL (Feat. Mawe)  
> Sorry this is so short. I split the chapter because this was supposed to be mostly from Ben and Vanya's perspectives and it wound up not being that. Still working on the rest.

Ben drifted in a weightless sleep until the dull ache in his bones dragged him back into the waking world. It was a very strange, unpleasant sensation, and one he hadn’t had to deal with for years.

He took a deep breath- also, a strange sensation now that he thought about it- and squinted up at the ceiling. Oh, great. He was alive.

He sat up with a grimace and looked around the empty room. And alone. He hoped the others weren’t stupid enough to get shot too. Better go find out. They had a nasty habit of surprising him with dumb decisions.

He gingerly shuffled off the bed, being careful not to put any weight on his injured leg, and hobbled out into the hall where he could use the wall for balance.

It was also deserted. The silence was actually starting to worry him at this point.

 

“Hello?” Vanya called as loudly as she dared. There was something about the quiet in the burning world that both quelled and fueled her urge to be heard. It was as if she were afraid to wake the dead. She scoffed at the thought. It wasn’t like she could _see_ them. Suddenly she was very glad she didn’t have Klaus’ powers, “ _Hello!”_

She stumbled over a chunk of concrete and gave up on trying to make human contact in favor of not giving herself a concussion. Going off of what little was left of the buildings, she was maybe six miles from home but it was starting to get dark. She would need to find shelter soon.

 

Ben made it halfway down the stairs before he heard Diego yelling at Luther in the kitchen. He let out a relieved sigh at the sound and slumped against the banister.

“They were all very worried about you.”

Ben whipped around, clinging to the handrail as if it would protect him.

His father stood straight as a rod at the top of the stairs like he'd materialized out of nowhere.

Ben stared up at his father in muted horror but saw none of the stiff indignation he was expecting. He almost looked... _concerned_ \- if what Ben learned from years of interpreting Five could be trusted.

 

Vanya stepped through the shattered window of what had once been a convenience store. It seemed stable enough. It was the only building with a decent roof on the block, at any rate, and if it collapsed and killed her, well… she couldn't start the apocalypse if she was dead, right?

Vanya shook her head and started searching for something to eat and make a bed with.

 

His father drew level with him on the stairs and paused when Ben hadn't moved, “Let's not keep them waiting, shall we?”

The former ghost startled and nodded, “Er, no, sir.”

His father nodded but still waited for Ben before making his way down the stairs. The whole affair was nerve wracking, to say the least.

By the time they made it to the kitchen, Ben was twitching and the Horror was crawling under his skin. As such, he was not ready for Allison's happy squeal and the accompanying hug. They would've toppled to the floor if their father hadn't put a hand on the back of Ben's shoulder to keep him upright.

Ben cast him a startled look but then Luther and Diego were there and his siblings were all talking over each other while they ushered him to the table.

“Alright, that's enough!” their father called over them and thumped his cane.

The others silenced before Ben could even begin to decipher  a word of what they might've said.

The thumping continued, only it wasn't from their dad's cane because he wasn't moving it.

Everyone looked towards the entrance to the kitchen.

“I'll get it,” Diego said and walked out of the room.

Luther followed with a loud, “Hang on, _I_ should answer it! What if it's someone sent here to kill us?”

 

Hazel fidgeted with the buttons of his jacket. The last time he'd had any sort of interaction with this family, they'd been trying to kill each other- apart from the margarita he'd shared with Five towards the end. They wouldn't know him in this time, but the nervous twitch was still there.

Agnes put a reassuring hand on his arm and he cast a smile over his shoulder at her.

The door promptly opened, snapping Hazel back into focus.

The kid, short, Latino with a knife in his hand and a taller blond kid at his back, widened his eyes in recognition.

_Oh-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this house, we use netflix Reggie, because netflix Reggie cares, he just has a problem emoting and being a decent person in general. Comic Reggie is an evil sadistic asshole who would TOTALLY play tennis with Hitler.  
> If my end notes are particularly jumpy, it's because I write them while I'm doing the scene and then copy paste.  
> Thank you for your patience. :3


	14. As It Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a road way, muddied and foxgloved...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: As It Was by Hozier  
> Behold! The other half!

“-shit!”Klaus threw his free hand out to avoid falling on a pile of sharp rubble and stopped until he had his balance back. He shouldered the duffel bag of supplies and shuffled on, pointedly ignoring the shadows that were beginning to take shape around him, “Okay, really missing Ben right now,” He muttered and quickened his pace. 

“ _ What happened?” _

_ “What-” _

Klaus broke into a trot, “Definitely missing Ben.”

 

Hazel cleared his throat with a cautious half step back, “Is Five here? I kinda need to talk to him.”

The front kid's eyes narrowed, “You Hazel or Cha-Cha?”

The blond stiffened in protective fury.

Hazel sighed and rolled his eyes, “Very funny, kid. This is serious.”

The kid grunted and stepped aside, “Five's not here. Come in.”

The blond shot his brother an outraged look, “ _ Diego _ !”

“Shut up, Luther,” Diego snapped, “You got a better idea?”

“He tried to kill us!” The blond protested.

Hazel caught Agnes’ concerned look from the corner of his eye and shrugged. It was his _ job _ , after all.

“Five said he flipped sides,” Diego countered, “And if he's a problem, We can kill him.”

“Thanks,” Hazel deadpanned.

Luther growled but stepped aside with a grumbled, “Fine.”

 

“It’s strange seeing you so idle.”

Five’s gaze shifted sluggishly towards the woman sitting on a chunk of stone masonry, “‘s strange seeing you with brown hair,” He replied, ignoring the way his heart missed a beat at the sight of her. Klaus wasn’t here. She couldn’t hurt him. She  _ wouldn’t  _ hurt him.

Five scowled at the woman who’d shot Ben with all the venom he could muster at the moment.

She was younger than he was used to, but then, she had been when she grabbed him on the sidewalk. Her hair was curled in the same oily hairstyle it had been when they’d first met and it was silver. It was brown now and that same stupid hat with the net veil was sitting on top. 

The Handler hummed, “How’s the side?”

Five rolled his eyes back towards the sky again. If it didn’t risk dropping him permanently, he would try to stab her. He still might.

“I hope there’s no hard feelings about your brother,” She remarked.

Five felt his blood pressure spike along with a healthy dose of homicidal rage.

“I’m going to take your stoic silence and white-knuckled stillness as a no,” The Handler said.

“You shot my  _ brother  _ **_through me_ ** ,” He snarled- or tried. It didn’t come out with as much force as he wanted because he was tired and he wound up coughing at the end. 

The world went fuzzy and he had to focus on breathing evenly before it cleared again. He screwed his eyes shut with a frustrated growl.

The crunch of gravel warned him of her approach.

“Well, I had to get you both out of the way somehow,” She said. There was a scrape as she crouched over him, “You’ve turned out to be a real thorn in our side.”

Five opened his eyes to glare up at her, “Does your presence have a  _ point _ ?” He asked wearily.

Blood red lips pulled up into a smile and trailed a crimson talon down the side of his face, “Not really. Just here to keep you company in the end.”

Five furrowed his brow and had to force himself to stay still.

“That is… Unless you want to come work for us,” She added, “For real, this time.”

Five scoffed and grimaced at the dull prickle of pain the action caused, “Why would this time be any different?”

Bone white flashed against red in his peripheral vision, “Let’s just say we found some… added incentive.”

Five closed his eyes, “Not interested.”

“That’s too bad,” She sighed in disappointment.

“ _ Five!”  _ Rubble scraped and crunched.

His eyes snapped open and he looked toward the source of the noise.  _ Klaus? _

He saw the Handler smile and disappear from the edge of his vision.

_ Shit.  _

Five tried to call for his brother to run and got a mouthful of ash for his troubles. This sent him into a coughing fit that made his vision go grey.

 

Klaus scrambled closer to where Mom was hovering over Five with a worried frown and a hand on his forehead, “He dead yet?”

Mom looked up and her expression smoothed out some.

Five squinted in Klaus’ general direction with a grumpy frown, “Work-king on it.”

Klaus hummed with practiced nonchalance and sat down next to his brother, “Well, don’t die until we get home. Ben would be pissed and then I’d have to hear about it for the next twenty years.”

Five’s lips quirked upward in a barely perceptible smile as his eyes slipped shut, “Wouldn’t want that.”

Klaus snorted and ruffled Five’s hair, earning a halfhearted groan of protest, “ _ You  _ would, because you’re an ass.”

Five made a noncommittal sound of agreement that would  _ never  _ have happened if he was fully awake.

Klaus nudged Five’s shoulder with a tiny smile, “Hey, don’t go to sleep yet.”

Five’s glared up at Klaus through slitted eyes.

He wasn’t paying attention. He was digging through the duffel bag he’d found, “Guess-” He turned back to Five once he was sure the bag wouldn’t catch and nudged his brother again.

Five growled and cracked his eyes open again.

Klaus flashed him a grin and pulled his objective from the duffel bag, “Guess who I found?”

Five’s face lit up, “D‘lores!”

Klaus handed the mannequin over and went back to fishing through the bag while Mom helped Five tuck her gently into Five’s side without injuring him further.

“I also… found… Aha! Penicillin!” Klaus beamed and passed the bottle of tablets to their mom before fishing out a water bottle to go with it.

Klaus tugged a can and two spoons from the bag and Mom gave Five the appropriate amount of medicine.

“I don’t suppose, you know any good spots to see while we’re stuck here,” Klaus mused, opening up the can and settling in close enough to Five to tell he was colder than he should be.

Five hummed, “The coast isn’t so bad.”

Klaus quirked a brow and offered him the can of soup with a spoon in it, “That so? How’d that happen?”

“Ocean washed ‘way most d’bry,” Five explained groggily. He didn’t go for the soup, “Shaddup.”

Klaus glanced at Mom before conceding with an amused smile, “Okay. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Five, having been a good ways towards passing out before  _ he’d  _ spoken, just hummed and nuzzled into the closest source of warmth available.

Klaus grinned down at his brother and tucked into his soup, oblivious to their mother smiling at them sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penicillin is on the list of antibiotics safe for children to take. No murdering Five’s liver today. Always consult a doctor before providing medication to your children.   
> Being mad takes a lot of energy. Especially mad to the point of not seeing. Which really sucks because you can also forget about seeing anything beyond ten feet for the next few hours too.  
> Five is a Koala bear when sleeping. This is based off the library scene where he had an arm slung over Dolores’ shoulders even though he was slumped in the opposite direction.


	15. Bohemian Rhapsody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazel needs a vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen  
> *whispers* I timed it perfectly. Ehehehehe :D

Vanya woke with a groan as dusty grey light filtered into her little nest of coats and shirts. Her joints ached from sleeping on the tile floor despite the padding she'd managed to put down.

Her back made a series of crunching noises as she stood up and stretched before scooping up the brief case she’d used to escape. Time to go home.

 

Klaus coughed and stumbled on a loose rock before righting himself and continuing in the direction Five had pointed him earlier that morning. Klaus had completely forgotten what direction he’d gone the previous night to find Dolores and both of them needed something to filter out the smoke if they were going to make it out of here without developing asthma.

 

Five was dozing- or trying to. He was a bit too irritated to sleep. His mind kept going back to the sidewalk with the Handler and her partner every time he tried. As such, he was glaring wearily at the sky when Hazel nearly tripped over him with a curse.

 

Out of the vast entirety of History, there is a very small list of yelps that, despite their surprise, remain “manly.” The sound Hazel made when Five’s sister spotted him standing over her brother and subsequently tossed him like a rag doll, was not one of them.

Hazel hit the ground with a disgruntled, “Oof,” and rolled behind a mound of shattered stone while he tried to catch his breath.

In retrospect, it wasn’t a very good idea- and not for the reason he would have expected.

He hadn’t settled behind his shelter for a second before a bullet pinged off a chunk of rock near his head.

Hazel flinched with a wheezing, “Shit,” and scrambled back around the pile of stone.

Vanya Hargreeves crouched protectively over her brother with glowing white eyes that spelled death. She had one hand on Five’s forehead but her gaze was fixed on Hazel.

“How is this my life?” Hazel grumbled and yelped when another shot nicked his arm. A gust of wind nearly knocked him off his feet again, but he managed to jump right as it hit so he didn’t fall as he made a dash for better cover.

Thunder rumbled across the sky and the first drops of rain started to fall.

 

Grace Hargreeves loved her children. Through every foolish or violent action, whether justified or not, she was there to be a voice of reason. Therefore, she didn’t need the tired glance Five cast her way to put a gentle hand on Vanya’s shoulder, “Vanya, dear, that’s enough.”

Vanya turned away from the stranger and her eyes flickered brown. 

 

Another shot sliced through the skin on Hazel’s forehead and he flinched before scrambling around the pile. A bullet hit the ground by his feet, “Fuck!” 

Hazel jumped to his feet and ran for it, screaming all the way.

 

Five, Grace, and Vanya watched him go with Klaus running after him.

“Come back here, you sick bastard!” Klaus hollered.

Five tried to shift up onto his elbows with a grimace, “Someone ne- needs to stop him.”

Hazel ducked out of view to avoid getting shot and a broken lamp came sailing at Klaus from where he’d moved.

It fell well short of hitting its mark.

“Which one?” Vanya asked.

Five let himself slide back to the ground with a growl, “Both. Briefcase only carries two.”

“We need that guy alive?” She asked, clearly wanting to let Klaus finish the guy off despite her usual inclination towards non-violence.

Five hummed his agreement.

“I’ll handle it,” Mom said, climbing to her feet. She squared her shoulders and put on a stern expression, “Klaus Hargreeves, you put that gun down this instant!”

They all watched Klaus jump and nearly drop the rifle as he turned to cast their mother an incredulous look. “He’s dangerous!” He yelled with a wide gesture in Hazel’s direction.

The assassin was looking between the brunet and his mother with a skittish air about him.

“So are we,” Mom replied, “Put the gun down.”

Klaus scowled.

“He’s here to help, sweetheart,” Mom called gently.

Klaus dropped the rifle with a contrary grimace.

Hazel, Grace and Vanya tensed automatically but it didn’t go off.

Grace and Vanya each glared at Klaus.

The boy shrugged as if he didn’t understand their irritation and turned a glower on Hazel, who, by this point, was starting to regret not leaving the Hargreeves family to its own devices when he had the chance.

“Well?” Klaus prompted curtly.

Hazel stood slowly, glancing between all upright parties, like he didn’t want to leave himself so exposed- which was fair, “I made plans with the others back in 2001. I was supposed to come get you,” He nodded at Klaus, “And then we were going to come up with a plan to rescue you,” He looked at Vanya.

“And we’re supposed to believe that?” Klaus asked.

“He’s telling the truth,” Grace replied, “He’s supposed to take you back to a week after your disappearance in the event that you’re injured to minimize the number of wounded per able bodied member of the academy.”

Klaus shot her a flat look, “Right. Who thought that up? Dad?”

“Ben did, actually,” Grace smiled over the shocked look it earned her, “Your return will attract attention. He wanted to be able to defend you without being a liability and we agreed.”

Klaus opened his mouth and closed it, “Well… That’s just…”

“Can we go, please?” Hazel asked, “I don’t like this any more than you do.”

Klaus scoffed, “Oh, I highly doubt  _ that _ .”

Hazel cast him a frustrated look.

“I’d like to go home now,” Vanya called in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Klaus slumped his shoulders with a sigh and walked over to them with Hazel following at a distance.

 

Grace smiled at her children as Klaus reluctantly took Hazel’s hand and Vanya helped Five with the briefcase she had brought.

Vanya cast Grace an uncertain glance but the blonde just nodded encouragingly, “I’ll see you at home, dear. Be safe.”

Vanya smiled and Five met Grace’s eye before gently pushing Delores towards her, “Could you keep her company for me?”

Grace nodded with a fond glint in her eye, Delores tucked carefully into her side like when the kids were younger and upset.

Her children disappeared in a flash of blue, leaving the two women alone at the end.

Grace took a meaningless breath and let it out as she gave Delores’ shoulder a gentle squeeze of reassurance, “It’s just you and me, Delores.”

She was glad the children had left, even if she missed them terribly already. She wouldn’t miss them for much longer now. Delores would, but there wasn’t much Grace could do about that. Her charging station had been destroyed along with her wall of views.

The sun dipped low, casting the hazy sky in a shade of red reminiscent of roses. 

Grace smiled, “At least we have a view.” Her eyes flickered blue then dimmed with the light of the dying sun and she wasn’t lonely anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering if the character death was referring to Ben, it wasn’t.


	16. Down the River

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five as very small and doesn't have any money so you can imagine the kind of stress he's under

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Down the River by Hugo

“He’s not  **_dead_ ** ?!” Jack screeched.

The Veiled Woman watched her rage dispassionately while Elizabeth sat off to the side stuffing a donut with pink icing and sprinkles in her face.

“Do you have any idea how  _ stupid  _ that was?” Jack snarled, “He’s killed at least forty of our people.  _ And _ he can time travel.”

The Veiled Woman snorted.

“Good luck with  _ that _ ,” Elizabeth remarked through her donut.

Jack and the Veiled Woman each shot her a look, angry and curious respectively.

“He can’t do his,” She made a vague gesture that clarified nothing, “thing when he’s hurt, right?”

“It’s severely limited,” Jack said slowly.

Elizabeth shrugged, “Well, Fisher handled that. We can go back and finish him off any time we like.”

Jack scowled and focused her anger back on the Veiled Woman, “Watch the house. I have some calculations to run.”

Elizabeth and the Veiled Woman watched her stalk out of room before sharing a look.

“Is it just me, or does she remind you of…” The Veiled Woman trailed off at the other brunette's flat look.

“It's you,” Elizabeth said.

 

Five’s head thunked against the hardwood floor of the sitting room amidst the disappearing blue light of the briefcase. His vision swam and he closed his eyes to keep from throwing up or passing out. They weren’t safe yet. The apocalypse still happened in this timeline. He needed to figure out what set it off this time and stop it-

“MOM!”

He grimaced and the burning ache in his skull throbbed. Oh, good. Klaus made it. Five wasn’t going to have to kill Hazel after all.

“You okay?” A soft voice asked somewhere over his head.

Five cracked an eye open to offer Vanya a crooked smile, “Never better.” He coughed and tried harder not to pass out. He still had work to do. He needed to keep what happened out front from happening again.

Just the thought of the attack had his throat closing up.

“Klaus?” Allison called in a different room.

Five caught Mom entering the room from the corner of his eye.

“Oh, dear. You were supposed to be taking it easy,” She said sternly, coming to crouch over him.

Five followed her progress sluggishly, “‘s Ben okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine,” Mom flashed him a smile and checked his bandages. The smile dropped to a frown at what she saw.

“Five?”

He rolled his head towards the new voice. It felt like the air had been punched from his chest and the room blanked out in a dizzy rush for a second. Five took a shuddering breath and levered himself up onto his elbows before pushing himself up into a sitting position. His whole middle screamed in protest and Mom told him to lay back down but he didn’t listen.

 

Luther stepped into the main foyer with a frown and spotted Allison and Diego in the doorway to the living room. He went over, wondering what all the commotion was about and stopped just behind them, chest uncomfortably tight and heart in his throat.

Five had a death grip on Ben and his breath was coming in shuddering gasps while Grace tried to get him to let go enough for her to look at his injuries.

No one else moved, too stunned to interfere, until their father came in from another set of doors, “What is- Klaus.” He looked at Luther and his siblings as if their status might have changed in the twenty minutes he hadn’t been with them before his gaze settled on the two boys huddled on the floor and it softened ever so slightly, “Luther, help Ben take him to the infirmary.”

Luther straightened and moved in, carefully lifting both siblings until Ben could get his feet under him and help with Five. Grace went ahead of them to get things ready. 

 

Klaus watched them go with something between worry and shock, “Everybody saw that, right? That wasn’t just me?” Five had been  _ crying. _

Diego scoffed.

“Is he serious?” Hazel asked.

“Yeah, we saw it,” Diego replied almost absently. He was staring at the floor where Five had been.

Klaus looked back the way his brothers had gone rather than follow his gaze, “To be clear, we’re killing the briefcase bitch, right?”

That earned him confused looks all around.

“The one who shot Ben and Five,” Klaus elaborated, “I’m only asking because  _ he’s  _ still here,” He pointed at Hazel. The action prompted an unwarranted irritated expression from the psycho. 

Diego rolled his eyes.

“We’re killing the Briefcase Bitch,” Allison said with an air of fond exasperation.

 

“Step back, please,” Dad said, moving forward with a set of scissors.

Ben scrambled to accommodate him as much as possible with Five still holding onto his shirt. As far as he could tell, Five wasn’t really all there right now. There was no way he would normally let their dad catch him dead hugging one of the others let alone crying.

Ben carefully pried his shirt and moved further away from their dad, keeping a light grip on his brother’s hand.

Their dad paid him no mind, peeling away crusty wet fabric, before poking lightly at Five’s side.

The boy hissed, scaring the  _ shit  _ out of Ben, and his eyes flickered open briefly.

“Is he going to be okay?” Luther asked, moving closer.

Their dad set the scissors aside and picked up a sort of bulb looking thing that was full of a clear liquid. It could've been alcohol or just water. Ben was really glad he wasn't going to find out the hard way, “His wound is infected.”

Ben cringed and tightened the grip he had on his brother’s hand in sympathy. He still scrunched his eyes shut when their Dad brought the thing over to the injury.

There was a swish and then Five’s grip was suddenly crushing Ben’s fingers and both of them were shouting. 

Five broke down coughing and Ben felt more than saw their dad step away from the table.

Ben tugged Five’s hand closer to his chest and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, “You’re okay, Five. Just breath.”

His brother sucked in a wheezing breath and squinted at him irritably.

Ben grinned partly out of relief, “What did you think I was going to say?” If Five had enough energy to be annoyed, he’d be okay.

“Didn’t,” Five croaked and coughed to clear his throat, wincing.

“Well, sorry, if you wanted someone who’d stay quiet, you should’ve grabbed Luther,” Ben replied fondly. He was quietly pleased Five had hugged him, even if he understood the reasons for it. He'd been about to hug Five, after all. The previous week had been rough. He and Luther had been discussing the possibility that Five had been wrong about the effects of his potential death on the timeline. 

Five opened his eyes and turned his head to look across the room. 

Ben shifted to the side so he could see their brother lurking in the background awkwardly.

“M- The Handler shot you,” Five muttered somberly, still staring at Luther with glassy eyes.

Ben’s amusement died at the veiled emotions in his brother’s voice and expression and gave his hand a light squeeze, “I’m right here.”

“And he’s not going anywhere,” Dad added, coming around to the head of the cot with a cup of water, “Not if I can help it.”

Ben wasn’t sure what to think of that.

 

“We can’t kill her.” Ben folded his arms as he leaned against the door to the infirmary.

His siblings shifted to argue but the guy behind them just looked grim.

“Why the hell not?” Diego asked, stepping closer, “She tried to kill you!”

“What’s to say they don’t come back to finish the job?” Allison added.

Klaus’, “Yeah,” went largely ignored.

Ben turned his gaze to focus on Diego, “Five said the woman who shot us was his boss.”

Diego scrunched his face up in disgust, “So?”

“She recruited him herself,” Hazel said.

Diego raised his eyebrows pointedly.

“ _ So,” _ Ben started and gestured for Luther to finish.

“If she dies now, she’ll never recruit him, which means Five won’t make it back to warn us about the apocalypse,” Luther explained.

Diego grimaced at him, clearly unhappy about Luther knowing something he didn’t.

“Great, what do we do then?” Allison asked.

“I vote lunch,” Klaus said, “Or breakfast. There wasn’t really a clear sun in the apocalyptic wasteland.”

Allison looked off to the side in exasperation.

“You might be able to pressure the Commission into giving up,” Hazel offered.

“You don’t get to talk,” Diego said, “You were supposed to bring our brothers back in one piece.”

Hazel frowned, “If you really wanted  _ that, _ you should’ve given me a meat grinder.”

Diego whirled on him only to be stopped by Allison and Vanya.

“This isn’t productive,” Vanya said quietly, “As much as I hate to say it, we might need to bring Dad into this.”

“Shit,” Klaus hissed at the same time Diego recoiled from her with a snarled, “Why?”

“He knew about the apocalypse before Five left,” Klaus sighed.

Hazel straightened at that, “What? How?”

Ben shrugged, “You’re the time traveler. What do you think?”

Hazel glanced at Ben’s siblings with a frown, “I think the file they gave us for Five was incomplete, is what I think.”

 

File No. 609872947635

Subject: Reginald Hargreeves

Alias: The Monocle

Place of Origin: ~~ Classified ~~

Date of Birth:  ~~ Classified ~~

Date of Death: March 20, 2019

Abilities: ~~Classified~~ ~~but if we did tell you, it would wind up being Hella useful~~

Notes: Has a wicked aim with a rifle.

Notes: ~~Somehow knows everything about a person on sight.~~ Capable of compartmentalizing his emotions to quite an impressive level. ~~This has caused disruptive emotional distress among the newer recruits. He has had to be relocated. Twice. Human Resources nearly went on strike after having to deal with one of his messes.~~ Arrogant. ~~Cheats at cards and has a poker face like you wouldn’t believe.~~ ~~The scheming bastard. Has always been a mad genius when it comes to strategy. Not that great at tactics. Or people. Obviously.~~ Disappointingly sentimental despite it. ~~There is speculation that this is due to the loss of his wife back and his home planet.~~ His time on Earth has proven unable to counter this development. He’s acquired a collection of human children. ~~He appears to be raising them himself despite no previous desire to have offspring or lack of experience. Unsurprisingly, he's not good at it. There is a bet in HR on how long they'll last.~~ His thought process for this remain, as of yet, unclear. ~~They survive to adulthood. How. He has nearly killed them himself at least twice. This biped should have never been placed in charge of the welfare of another being.~~

Should termination be necessary, he is not to be underestimated.

 

\--C

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Slashy part is supposed to be redacted. The black highlight function from Google Docs doesn't translate to Ao3 well.  
> Are the slashies cannon? Are they not? Who knows? Certainly not me.  
> I feel like I messed up somewhere really bad, but I can't spot it so here you go.


	17. I Have Made Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look. I found the mistake. It's the other third of the chapter was missing. This is the rest. Sorry.  
> Chapter title is purely coincidental.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title: I Have Made Mistakes by The Oh Hellos

On another planet, in another time, Reginald stepped away from the window, placing the lid back on the empty glass container in his hand, with a sinking heart. It was done. He was committed to the plan they’d agreed on well before Maeve had fallen ill. He consciously swallowed and set the container on the foot of his beloved’s bed.

“Reggie, you need to leave,” Maeve said gently.

He turned to speak and felt his throat constrict of it’s own accord.

Maeve smiled, crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes more prominent than ever, “Darling, you have to. You promised we’d see this through.”

“We were supposed to save them together,” He choked.

“I know,” She whispered, reaching up to take his hand in her’s, “I know, but this is bigger than us now. You have to see it through.”

The door to the room opened but Reginald didn’t bother to look up and see who it was.

“It’s time.”

Maeve smiled sadly and gave his hand a final squeeze before letting go.

Reginald straightened and forced his expression into a neutral mask, “Alright, then.”

  


**2001**

Agnes set the last bag of groceries in the trunk of Mr. Hargreeve’s car and smiled.

“I think that’ll about do it,” Pogo said with an answering smile of his own, “They should be back soon, if they aren’t already.”

She nodded and fished out the keys to the vehicle, “Let’s hope we get there in time, huh?”

  


“Are we really going to go to this damn bakery every time we have to watch the house?” Elizabeth grumbled.

The Veiled Woman hummed, sipping at her coffee, “Only when we need to see this side of it. You’re welcome to find somewhere more discrete.”

The other brunette huffed.

“Besides, I thought you liked their donuts,” She added.

The comment earned her an angry glare from her compatriot.

  


Reginald carefully cleaned and put away his instruments, allowing the tension to bleed from his shoulders with each meticulous step. He was no stranger to losing loved ones, but the attack the previous week had taken him woefully by surprise when it really shouldn’t have. It likely wasn’t protocol to send only grunts after a target, especially when all of them were eliminated. 

Reginald slid a drawer shut and cast a worried glance towards his son.

Fievel lay still on the operating table, oblivious to the world. 

didn’t matter, either way. He would not be taken for a fool again. 

Reginald shook out a sheet and pulled it up to Fievel’s shoulders, taking care to keep the arm with the IV above the fabric. He lightly placed a hand over his son’s heart before leaving the room.

  


Jack ripped another sheet off her notepad and tossed it to the side to join the multitude of others before continuing to scribble out her equations. It was not looking promising, but there were too many variables to be sure. 

She set down her pencil and tugged the accordion file closer to leaf through the information the Commission had given them again.

  


The remainder of his children and Hazel startled when he opened the door.

Reginald frowned, “If you’re going to hold any discussions on how to proceed, I would ask that you do it elsewhere. Your brother is resting.”

Diego stiffened defiantly, Allison and Vanya shifted on their feet, and Luther ducked his head.

Hazel met Reginald’s gaze head on before nodding.

“We were thinking of running our plans by you, if you want to help,” Ben said.

There was a stubborn glint in his eye that had never been there before when Reginald turned to look at him. He wondered where it had come from.

“I’ll be right down,” Reginald said, “There are some things I must attend to first.”

Ben stared him down, clearly looking for something. Reginald wasn’t sure what, though he appeared not to find it, judging by the disappointed slump in his shoulders as the children filed down the hall.

Hazel trailed after them, casting Reginald suspicious glances as he went.

Reginald sincerely hoped the children knew what they were doing by placing their trust in him. The Temps Aeternalis didn’t hire its employees for their loyalty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maeve is an Irish name that means cause of great Joy. I thought it was fitting since Reginald is supposed to mean mentor or great leader or something.


	18. Paint it, Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AhaHAhaHAah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title: Paint it, Black by The Rolling Stones

Grace rounded the corner at the same time the children did and looked over her shoulder at them as they passed before coming closer to the infirmary door with the pillow she’d gone to fetch, “Is everything alright? They look upset.”

“It will be,” Reginald drew himself up, though he needn’t pretend around Grace, “I need you to stay with Fievel while I’m gone. He will likely try to go help his siblings when he wakes up and I don’t know if I’ll be here to stop him.”

Grace furrowed her brow in worry, “Oh. What should I tell the children?”

“It’s already been taken care of,” Reginald assured her and stepped out of her way.

Grace slipped past him to enter the infirmary.

Reginald hesitated in leaving as a nagging thought came to his attention. He turned on his heel, “Oh, and Grace.”

She stopped to look at him curiously, “Yes?”

“Dolores.” Reginald didn’t wait to see her eyes flicker blue or the confused look that came across her face once they had. He walked down the hall towards his office with a determined set to his stride. 

The children were in the main sitting room, Klaus going on about something with an abundance of dramatic flair and too much arm waving.

Reginald slipped across the balcony unnoticed and ducked back into the one room the children were not allowed to enter.

 

Jack straightened, looking between the papers scattered over the table and the file in her hands in horror, “Fuck.”

A hiss and a thunk jolted her from her thoughts and she scrambled for the mini fridge.

  
  


Reginald reached up into the mantle of his fireplace and tugged, pulling a dusty black briefcase free from it’s hiding place to set it on his desk. One way or another, this was going to end.

 

**Order #: 0928370987538441                  Tube:13                    Confirmation: 56754**

**Withdraw to Head Quarters immediately.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dolores is a Spanish name that means Sorrow.  
> This is short because I wanted this specific song for this spot and it doesn't really fit what's going to happen next.


	19. I'm Still Standing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus get's kicked in the face and Diego and Luther actually work together for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title: I'm Still Standing by Elton John

Pogo looked around the hall to make sure the coast was clear before unlocking the narrow oak door he’d stopped in front of. It opened with a soft click and he quickly slipped inside. 

 

Ben sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, “That’s not a plan, that’s a wish list.” He was perched on the arm of the couch facing the fireplace with Klaus’ head propped against his knee. Vanya was on the other end with his feet.

Allison and Luther took up the other couch. 

“Well, what would  _ you  _ suggest then?” Diego snapped, whirling mid stride like a caged animal.

“I don’t know, but we hardly know anything about these guys and you already want to storm their HQ?” Ben countered with a defensive shrug, “We don’t know where it is, let alone what it would be like once we get there.”

He watched Hazel perk up at that.

“Not a word,” Diego said, pointing at the assassin without looking.

“Why not?” Vanya protested,” He worked for them. He could help.”

“He worked for them,” Diego said as if that suddenly changed Hazel’s current allegiance.

“And he tortured me,” Klaus put in with a raised hand. Ben was pretty sure he was just trying to be difficult at this point.

Everyone besides Ben and Klaus shot the former assassin a  _ Look _ .

Ben watched in mild amusement as Hazel looked back sheepishly, “It was when I was still with the commission.” His gaze turned to Klaus, “Sorry.”

Klaus narrowed his eyes threateningly then shrugged, “Okay.” 

Ben quirked an eyebrow at his brother and folded his arms over his chest to gauge Hazel’s reaction.

The assassin was staring at Klaus like he was insane- which… fair. He clearly didn’t expect to be forgiven so easily. Given that he’d not only cooperated, but volunteered his assistance despite this, it spoke volumes about his decision to change.

“I vote we hear him out,” Ben concluded.

Klaus shot him a curious look before sighing, “Seconded. Vanya?”

Their sister scowled at them, “agreed.”

The trio looked expectantly at the other three.

“Absolutely not,” Diego said sternly and glared at Allison and Luther.

The two exchanged a look, Luther clenching his jaw, “We still don’t have Five and if we’re involving Dad in this, he should get a vote.”

“No, absolutely not,” Diego growled at the same time Klaus chirped, “Great! I’ll go get Five,” and hopped up off the couch before Ben could stop him.

“He’s a part of this, Diego,” Luther protested with an air of resigned frustration.

“Yeah, he’s the reason we’re in this mess,” Diego said with a mulish stare that was almost his default expression when Luther was in the room, “And you know what? So is Five. We wouldn’t have this problem if he hadn’t gotten involved with those freaks in the first place.”

Ben glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed that Klaus was gone before getting up to make sure Five didn’t kill him.

 

“He did it to save us,” Luther protested.

Allison glanced at him in surprise.

“I don’t care!” Diego snapped, whirling on his heel, “He should have found another way. One that didn’t almost get us killed.”

“Like dying?” Hazel stepped closer to the group.

The boys tensed and all eyes turned toward the former assassin.

It was, of course, that moment that they all heard Ben shout in surprise.

“It’s alive!” Klaus screeched a beat later and there was a distant crash.

Allison and Luther exchanged a glance.

Diego started for the door with a muttered curse only for Five to materialize in front of him. 

“ _ Five! _ ” Diego yelled angrily.

The boy in question wobbled on his feet with a thunderous expression before sinking onto the couch beside Vanya and curling in on himself.

“Please tell me you didn’t just kill our brothers,” Luther groaned.

Allison’s lips twitched upward despite the sullen look on her brother’s face.

“They had it coming,” He grumbled.

“ _ Five,” _ Diego growled.

Five huffed with a wince and hugged his middle, “They’ll live.”

“Awe,  _ Fievel,  _ I’m so glad you care!” Klaus cooed from the door.

“Klaus _ ,” _ Five growled.

“Fievel?” Vanya inquired.

“It’s his name,” Klaus said with a wicked glint in his eye as Ben appeared behind his shoulder with a bloody tissue pressed to his face.

“ _ Klaus!” _

“That’s what you get for kicking me, bitch,” Klaus replied dropping on the other end of Vanya’s couch and draping his legs over his siblings.

Five immediately shoved his feet off.

Ben sat down before Klaus could put them back up.

“So… What were we talking about, again?” Klaus asked.

“We were voting on whether or not to trust Hazel’s information in regards to the Commission’s layout,” Luther explained with waning patience, “But we don’t have Dad.”

“His vote’s not going to influence anyone else’s,” Ben pointed out, “Just vote now, if we tie, ask him later.”

“And you can  _ vote  _ later,” Grace said, sweeping into the room with- well, grace, “It’s lunch time.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Vanya said.

“I call end seat!” Klaus yelled and vaulted needlessly over the back of the couch.

Allison sighed as Luther and Five stared after him in mutual confusion.

 

Klaus was indeed at the end seat when they all trickled in, Ben bringing up the rear with Five and Vanya.

Diego sat on one side of the medium while Ben took the other. Five and Vanya sat on Ben’s side of the table and Allison naturally sat between Luther and Diego with Hazel and Agnes at the opposite end from Klaus.

“Now, ladies, gents,” Klaus started with a manic grin, “No murder at the dinner table.”

“This isn’t the dinner table,” Ben commented just to be difficult.

Klaus hissed at him and Five rolled his eyes.

Allison smiled to herself and recalled the surveillance tapes Pogo had showed her. In retrospect, it was probably a little sad that those were all they had, but they could change that this time around. They could change a lot of things.

“Technicalities aside, we should really get something done,” Five said as Mom started dishing out pancakes with little smiley faces on them.

“Yes, for starters, I was thinking we could start with a game of Scrabble,” Klaus agreed.

Allison quirked an eyebrow and caught Diego’s confused grimace in the corner of her eye.

“Why?” Luther asked with a similar expression.

Klaus grinned, “Team building!”

It was Ben who rolled his eyes this time. Five was too focused on his coffee to comment.

“Think about it. We’ve got two new people to work with,” Klaus pressed, “What better way to get inside their heads than a rousing game of teamwork and word building?”

Five furrowed his brow.

“Literally anything else,” Vanya said.

“Not Monopoly,” Diego countered.

“You’ve never played Scrabble before,” Ben declared.

Klaus shrugged, “It sounds like a fun game.”

Five lowered his cup of coffee to the edge to the table, “Scrabble has teams?”

Ben sighed.

“It doesn’t,” Hazel provided, flashing Mom a smile when she set his breakfast down in front of him, “But I don’t see why it can’t.”

Klaus beamed at the former assassin, “Great! I call Five’s team.”

Five grimaced, “We don’t have time for this.”

“We have eighteen years,” Luther pointed out before taking a large bite of his pancakes. 

Five gave him a look like Luther had dumped salt in his coffee.

Vanya hid her grin in her orange juice.

“We wanted to wait for dad, anyway,” Allison added, “He has something to do before he joins us.”

“Do we even  _ have _ Scrabble?” Diego asked. 

Klaus shrugged.

“We can look,” Allison suggested.

“After you finish your breakfast,” Mom said firmly.

Allison offered her a sheepish smile and they all lapsed into silence as they did as they were told.

That is until Ben straightened up with a thoughtful frown, “You don't think Dad ran off to confront the commission on his own, do you?”

Allison lifted her gaze enough to see the question was directed at Five.

“It's a possibility,” He admitted, “Why do you ask?”

Ben set down his fork with a shrug, “Well, catastrophically bad parenting decisions aside, you two are really similar.” 

“Thanks,” Five said in a flat tone while Klaus nearly jumped out of his seat with wide eyes.

“No, but he's _ right _ , though,” The medium said emphatically, “You’re both, like, the grumpiest people we know!”

“And you both rely too much on logic,” Ben offered.

“You can shut up now. We get the point,” Five said with a sharp calm.

“You both tend to go off by yourselves,” Allison added with a small smirk. The remark earned her a harsh glare and Five disappeared with a soft pop.

“There goes your team,” Diego mused.

Klaus hummed with a thoughtful frown before hopping out of his chair, “I’m gonna go find Scrabble.”

Ben followed with a sigh. 

 

Five closed his father’s red journal with a hollow feeling in his chest and looked at the patch of desk not covered in ash. 

Ben was right, though, he likely hadn’t anticipated their father having a briefcase.

“Hey, we found Scrabble.”

Five’s gaze snapped to the doorway and his grip on the journal tightened until his knuckles turned white.

Allison’s eyes flicked toward it, “You coming down?”

Five forced himself to lower the book back to the desk without breaking eye contact. He swallowed and nodded, “I’ll be right down.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, “You’re not going to run off, are you?”

Five gave her a flat look, “Yes, I’m going to run off after dad without backup because I'm an idiot.”

Her lips quirked upward, "well, you have before."

"I’ll be down in a minute,” He said firmly, though he could tell his expression wasn’t as stern as he wanted it because she smiled before she left.

He waited until he heard the creak of the floorboard above the stairs before he opened the bottom drawer of their father’s desk and shoved the journal into it. 

It would only cause problems if they found it now. 

 

There was a collective uproar by the time he stumbled out of his jump to the living room.

Mom, Hazel, Agnes, and the rest of Five’s siblings were sitting on either side of the coffee table, clearly paired up into their teams already. He noted that, for some reason, Diego and Luther were on the same side with Ben sitting between them. Grace and Agnes were in the chairs to either side of them, leaving Klaus, Vanya, Hazel, and Allison on the other team.

“That’s not a word,” Allison said.

“Yeah, it is,” Diego said smugly.

Klaus leaned over the board curiously, “I believe you’re missing a ‘k’, there.”

“No, that’s right,” Ben countered.

“It’s in the urban dictionary,” Vanya agreed.

Five limped closer with a frown.

“Ugh! Fine!” Klaus threw his head back and grabbed two tiles off and sticking them on the board to spell ‘pew’, “sixteen.”

“What?” Diego grimaced.

Five smirked as Allison and Klaus snickered.

“That’s not a word,” Luther protested with a frown.

“Yes, it is,” Klaus said, “onomatopoeia.”

“Are we counting that?” Diego asked as Agnes dragged their wall of tiles closer with an excited, “Oh!”

Ben sighed, “Yeah, we might as well. If he can use it, we can.”

“Sixteen!” Agnes said proudly.

Everyone stopped and looked back at the board.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Klaus mused.

Hazel slumped, “I’m on the wrong team.”

“Oh, don’t be dramatic.” Klaus flapped a hand dismissively.

“He’s right, though,” Vanya pointed out, “We’re losing. Also, I don’t see how we’re going to make any words with- wait. She set an ‘o’ under the ‘d’ in legend. Five.”

“What?” Five asked.

Vanya looked up at him, equally confused, before scooting over and patting the space next to her.

Five shuffled closer and sat down with a grimace, “ _ That’s  _ what we have to work with?”

They had one vowel, a blank tile and five consonants.

Vanya shrugged, “The blank tile can be whatever letter you want, but it doesn’t count towards the score.”

“Ben, you son of a bitch!” Klaus hollered, earning him a stern look from their Mom.

Ben cast his brother a wicked grin, “Eight.”

“What does stan mean?” Hazel asked.

Allison sighed.

“Irrelevant,” Five reached for their tray and stopped, wincing.

Klaus rocked forward dramatically, “I can’t believe you took that from me.”

Vanya slid the tray closer.

Five gave her a nod of thanks and reorganized several of the tiles while she watched on, “You see what I’m doing?”

She nodded as Klaus jostled her in a flamboyant gesture and set about adding to make jocular.

“It’s a betrayal of-”

“Twenty seven,” Vanya said.

Klaus startled and looked at the board again, “That’s good, right?”

“Current score is 58 to 71,” Mom supplied.

Diego cursed and they wound up spending their turn swapping tiles.

The game continued on, Five occasionally putting in words with Vanya’s help. Luther’s team kept getting vowels from the bag to the point that they weren’t able to do anything but swap out tiles for several turns. They wound up using the word ‘moo’ at one point just to avoid it.

The tile bag was confiscated from Luther as a result of at least six bad draws.

Luther’s team still lost at 135 to 213.

Klaus let out a whoop and ran out of the room while Ben stared at the board in something akin to shock and the others bickered about the loss.

Five watched on with a small smile, Vanya’s shoulder brushing against his as she and Allison discussed taking a family picture once Klaus comes back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The snippet of game is based off actual game play.  
> Ben got punched in the nose because he got too close when Five was coming out of a flashback. Klaus was kicked for being an ass which was why he didn't have any visible injuries from it.  
> Questions or concerns are welcome, as are suggestions for potential future scenes.  
> For additional contact, I am also on tumblr as webslinger9-5am.  
> Thanks for reading! :)


	20. Tainted Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title: Tainted Love by Soft Cell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Siblings get back on track.

“Clear off the table. We need to focus,” Five declared as the air warped around his hands and suddenly he was holding a small stack of papers and a marker, “Dad’s already left for the Commission.”

“What?” Diego asked with a confused grimace.

Luther stepped closer to the table, looming slightly despite his diminished height, “How?”

 

Reginald materialized just outside the observatory of the Commission, squinting against the sudden change in light. He took the barest minimum amount of time to adjust to his new surroundings before starting forward with a determined stride.

 

Five gingerly adjusted himself so he could reach more than the lip of the coffee table without tearing something, “He has a briefcase. I assume he had it stashed somewhere in his office. Anyway.” He started to sketch out a rough diagram of the Commission complex they would hopefully be attacking, “The briefcases are programmed not to travel into the buildings for security reasons, so once we get there, we’re going to have to be fast.”

“What exactly are we after?” Luther asked, “I mean, I get these guys, but there are still only eight of us.”

“If you want to stop the Commission coming after you, you’ll want to get administration,” Hazel said leaning over Five’s shoulder.

“That’s the third floor of this building,” Five agreed, tapping the largest layout before going back to his schematics, “Problem is, we’re going to have to take out security once we get there and the first two floors are largely devoted to management. There are hold up buttons scattered around both in case of someone getting a hold of one of the briefcases.”

 

He was almost to the front steps when security stormed out the front doors. He tugged his briefcase up just in time to avoid a bullet to the head and flicked a thumb over a part of the design in his cane handle. 

The cane hummed to life in his grip and he brought its end up, bracing it against the briefcase and fired at the door.

 

“Should we be worried about Dad making it through?” Luther asked.

 

Reginald ascended the last steps and tossed his briefcase off to the agents on his right as he spun to fire his cane at the agents on his left.

The agents behind him scrambled out of the case’s way and it exploded in a ball of flame, sending them flying.

Reginald flicked the design on his cane again and dropped it back to his side, leaning on it wearily with a sigh.

Heels clicked to a stop in the doorway to his right.

 

“He’ll be fine,” Five said dismissively, ignoring the way Luther stiffened at his tone.

 

“Jacqueline,” Reginald greeted calmly and turned to look at the woman with her handgun trained on his heart.

Jack stood straight as a line, black suit as immaculate as ever, and hair pulled up in a neat bun as her icy blue eyes bored into Reginald’s, “I suppose it wouldn’t have occurred to you to pick up a phone?”

Reginald pressed his lips into a firm line to keep from smiling, “What I have to discuss is not for the phone.”

Jack’s expression turned even more severe than normal, but she tucked her gun back into the holster under her arm and gestured for him to come inside.

 

“Once we get inside, it’ll be easier if we split off into groups,” Five continued, dividing the donuts Agnes had brought into three groups, “Hazel, Klaus, and Ben, you’ll be headed to the dorms to make sure none of the field agents interfere.” He set the plate with a jelly doughnut, blue iced doughnut, and a pink iced doughnut with rainbow sprinkles off to one side of the schematics, “If you see Hazel’s younger self there, don’t shoot him. You could kill this one. Allison, Diego and Luther, you’ll be taking care of management. They’re largely noncombatants, so if you just lock them in the offices, you should be fine.” Their plate was all plane glazed, “Any questions?”

Klaus raised his hand from where he sat on the opposite couch, “I have one. Why am I the sprinkles?”

Five sighed.

“You forgot about me,” Vanya said quietly.

Five looked up at her, gaze softening slightly, “No, I didn’t. You’ll be with me.” He moved the last plate, an white iced doughnut with black music note sprinkles, and another with chocolate icing to the limited schematics of the third floor, “We’re going to talk to the Handler.” 

 

Jack lead him to the door of what had once been his office when he’d been with the Temps Aeternalis and opened it.

A man with brown hair just starting to go grey at the temples sat on the other side of the wide oaken desk. Upon seeing the two newcomers he perked up with a huge grin and cried, “Reggie!”

Reginald suppressed a groan, “Horace.”

The man frowned, “It’s Carmichael.”

Reginald sighed. 

“Are you here for the annual review?” Horace asked, grinning again.

 


	21. Blood//Water (Acoustic)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It turns out storming a super secret organization based outside of time is a really stupid plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Blood//Water(Acoustic) by grandson

“I’m not rejoining the Temps Aeternalis,” Reginald said firmly.

Horace made a show of being stern, “It’s the Commission now. You know that. You were still here when we decided to change it. Maeve and I out voted you, remember?”

Reginald clenched his teeth, “I’ve come to take care of a grievance.”

Horace sighed, “Your sense of humor hasn’t improved any, I see.”

 

Hazel tugged at the bottom of his suit anxiously before Agnes rested a gentle hand on his elbow. His gaze jerked up to meet hers and she smiled.

“You’re going to be fine,” She said quietly.

Something crashed upstairs and the sound was promptly followed by an irate, “Luther!”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” He replied.

“Guys, cut it out!” one of the girls yelled, also from upstairs.

Five materialized with a faint pop on Hazel’s other side, startling both adults.

“Jesus!” Hazel exclaimed with a hand over his thundering heart while Agnes peered around him at the fifty-eight year old teenager.

“They’re almost ready,” Five said unapologetically and passed a sealed envelope to Agnes.

“What’s this for?” She turned it over in her hands and Hazel caught a glimpse of neat boxy handwriting.

“In case anything goes wrong,” Five replied easily, “You’re technically outside of your time which means the Commission could come after you if we fail.”

Agnes held the envelope a little closer to her chest with a worried glance at Hazel, “But you won’t.”

Five let out an irritated huff, “Humor me.”

Agnes nodded reluctantly as the rest of the Hargreeves came in to the main foyer.

Grace followed them with the briefcases, handing them off to the former assassins.

Hazel watched Five shift on his feet and straighten as much as his current condition would allow, “Okay. Does anyone have any questions about what we’re going to do?”

Klaus raised his hand.

Five rolled his eyes and gestured to him with his free hand, “Yes, Klaus.”

“Oh, I don’t have a question,” The medium said, “I just want to say this plan is stupid and dangerous and we’re all going to die.”

“ _ Thank  _ you,” Five said with gritted teeth, “Anyone else?”

The others exchanged glances before shaking their heads.

Five nodded, “Stick with your groups. Watch each other’s backs. Don’t die.” He promptly reached for Ben and they disappeared in a flash of blue.

The other siblings exchange wry glances and Hazel held out a hand to Klaus.

The medium reluctantly took it and Hazel cast one look at the others, “We’ll be back for you in a minute.”

 

“That’s a shame,” Horace said, leaning back in his chair, “We would have loved to have you again.”

“I’m sure,” Reginald replied with a look of disdain.

 

Five crouched low in the bushes to the side of the Commission’s observatory, peering out at the expanse they were going to have to cross. He could blink over and eliminate any immediate threats if push came to shove, but, given his injuries, that plan was hardly ideal.

“I know I’m not used to you leading the group and all,” Diego said from somewhere over his left shoulder, “but aren’t we supposed to be moving forward.”

Five clenched his jaw and closed his eyes briefly, counting to ten, “Something’s wrong. This place is usually bustling with activity.”

“Well, you said dad came through,” Luther pointed out, “And there are bodies near the entrance. Maybe they’re on lock down or something?”

“Protocol is to have regular security sweeps of the entire grounds until any breach in the perimeter has been neutralized,” Hazel said.

Five shifted on his feet, mind made up, and passed the briefcase to Ben on his right, “I’ll be back. Stay here.”

He didn’t wait to hear their protests, twisting the air around him, he stumbled into one of the columns at the top of the main stairs. A good twenty feet away from where he’d been aiming.

Five flinched at the impact of the cold limestone and shot the other pillar a wide eyed look. Well,  _ that _ wasn’t good. 

He quickly scanned the area for live combatants and scooped up one of the dead agent’s handguns before looking back at the observatory only to see the others coming up the front steps with Diego at the head.

“I told you to wait,” Five growled.

Diego shrugged, “Well, we figured when you didn’t immediately get shot, it was clear.”

Five leveled him with a flat expression but dropped it, heading inside. 

The red emergency lights were flashing, but the sirens were silent and there was still no sign of anyone. There weren’t even bodies beyond the front doors.

Five edged further into the room with a scowl, hackles raised.

“I don’t like this,” Diego muttered.

Klaus huffed a laugh.

Five cleared the corners of the lobby, still eyeing the hall to the East stairs with his gun trained toward the floor ahead when he spoke, “Back outside.”

His words were met with a series of clicks and a hissed swear from Luther and Hazel.

“Mr. Five,” a frustratingly familiar voice drawled.

He turned slowly to glare at the Handler blocking their exit with a number of agents at her heel and that damn Walther pistol in her hand.

She flashed him a blood-red smile, “You’re getting a bit predictable in your old age. Drop your weapons, please.”

Several of his siblings tensed instead. 

The agents raised their weapons threateningly and and the Handler smiled again, “Oh, I really wouldn’t do that, if I were you. We just want to talk, after all.” She tilted her head to the side to peer past his siblings at him, “That  _ is  _ why you came, isn’t it?”

Five pressed his lips in a firm line to keep from snarling and raised his gun so they could see him pull out the magazine and empty the chamber before tossing it at her feet.

With his aim, it skidded between his siblings’ feet until it hit her shoe.

The Handler pursed her lips and looked down at it in disappointment, “And here I was hoping this would be more fun.” She sighed, “Take the Hargreeves and… Hazel to the closest interrogation room and keep them there. Mr. Five and I have business to discuss.”

The agents moved forward and everyone but Hazel shifted protectively in front of Five.

“If you want to discuss business with Five, you can do it with us in the room,” Luther growled.

Five rolled his eyes and teleported in between the two groups, “No harm is to come to them in my absence.”

“Five!” Luther protested.

He turned to meet the fear, worry and understanding in Luther’s gaze. The others looked a range between confused and worried.

“You’re not the leader,” Luther said low and pleading.

Five’s lips quirked upward in the barest hint of a smile and he tilted his head slightly, “Yeah, well, last time I checked I’m twenty eight years older than you.” He returned his focus to the Handler before his brother’s expression could go further than aggravated worry, “Well?”

Piercing blue eyes scanned him, calculating, before she nodded, “Agreed.”

Five almost sagged with relief until she looked past him and added, “ _ One  _ of you can accompany us if it will make you feel any better.”

Five tensed, “What? No.” He could get himself out and to the others if the deal went south, but he didn’t know if he could take one of the others with him. Their foray through time had nearly killed him space was an entirely different ball game. 

“Vanya,” Luther said decisively.

Five’s gaze jerked around to Luther in betrayal.

The blond’s only response was to tilt his head in challenge as Vanya inched her way toward the front of the group.

“Absolutely not.” Diego stuck an arm out in front of Vanya.

Five felt more than saw the Handler shrug, “We could always just shoot you.”

Diego grimaced as Vanya put a gentle hand on his arm and stepped past.

 

Horace pushed the boundaries of how far back his chair would go, “I’m afraid I can’t help you with that.”

Reginald straightened, “And why not?”

Horace scoffed and leaned forward again, “Surely you’ve figured it out by now. Number Five cannot exist as he is now if you want the rest of your family- or the  _ world _ , for that matter- to survive. He hasn’t learned to skim off the energy travel like that generates and it’s corrupting reality itself.”

A light buzzed on Carmichael’s desk as Reginald straightened to his full height, “You are not killing my son.”

The man’s lips twisted upward in a half smile, “I’m sorry, Reggie, but that’s really not up to you.”

 

The Handler leaned back in her chair with her feet crossed at the ankles on the edge of her desk, gun still trained on Five and a frozen Vanya, “Well, shall we get started?” She asked with a crimson smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope this made sense. The next chapter is under heavy review because I had to change exactly how Five and Vanya got to the Handler, but it's mostly written, so it should be up soon.


	22. Caesar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Homeward bound.  
> Warning: This chapter may be stressful for certain readers as it does contain character death. It's not gory or anything, just... bring tissues. And chocolate. If you don't want to risk it, I can provide rough details upon request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Caesar by The Oh Hellos

Luther sat at the interrogation table, staring straight ahead while Diego paced back and forth behind him like a caged animal.

Klaus was fidgeting in the back corner to Luther’s right while Ben and Allison hovered.

“I can’t believe you sent  _ Vanya  _ with that psycho!” Diego snapped finally.

Luther didn’t break eye contact with the mirror, “Klaus, are there any ghosts around here?”

Klaus snorted and Diego stormed up behind Luther’s chair to loom over him, “Did you hear me? She has  _ no _ combat experience! She can’t defend herself!”

Klaus’ hands flared blue.

Luther shot his brother a look, “You and I both know that’s not true.”

Diego scowled but at that moment, shots rang out over screams on the other side of the door and something thumped against the two way mirror.

 

“What on Earth do you mean by that?!” Reginald spat.

The man turned a knob on the small monitor on his desk and turned it so that he could see.

Reginald felt his heart skip a painful beat at the sight of Vanya and Five standing perfectly still in the Handler’s office.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with my associate,” Horace said evenly.

Reginald didn’t bother to respond. He was more than familiar. He had trained her himself.

He turned on his heel and strode towards the door only for an agent he’d hardly noticed until now to step in his path.

“As I said, the decision is not up to you,” Horace repeated.

 

“And how do we know you’ll hold up your end of the bargain this time?” The Handler countered, taking a drag of her cigarette as she leaned back in her chair, “You’ve already burned us twice.”

“I won’t leave,” Five replied calmly, despite the unease creeping back into his shoulders. He hadn’t liked this plan from the beginning. There was too much that could go wrong. He would have no way to guarantee its success even if she agreed, “You can keep eyes on me at all times until the deal is complete.”

The Handler pursed her lips before letting out a long trail of smoke, “Are you sure? I can’t imagine you’re happy with this arrangement.”

A humourless smile twitched at the corners of Five’s mouth, “I was never looking for happy,” He said, fighting with the urge to shift on his feet. She loved to play on his discomfort which would cost them time. Time they would not have if Luther really had caught on to what the plan actually was. Her powers were limited by proximity outside of the timeline, after all.

 

Another thump made the mirror of the interrogation room hum in it’s frame before a section shattered around the body of an agent that promptly tumbled to the floor.

Allison and Klaus yelped while the others frowned and Hazel leaned curiously over the body.

The spectral blue head of a woman with a dark updo peered at them through the hole, “Well? Come one, then! We haven’t got all day!”

 

The Handler continued to watch him, icy blue eyes boring into his soul for any sign of deceit and finding none. He’d used all of his tricks. This was his last gambit. Now all that was left was to get his family out of here before they did something stupid.

The Handler leaned forward and stuck her hand out for him to shake, “Deal.”

Five took it as time unfroze and he felt a dizzying rush of relief.

There was still no guarantee that the Handler would keep her word, but the others could take care of the rest. They had each other now. They would be fine. They didn’t need him.

The fear and unease continued to curl along his shoulders like a cold chill but that wouldn’t likely abate until they were all gone- maybe after, given what he’d just agreed to do.

Vanya rocked forward slightly and blinked at them, “Did I miss something?”

Five turned and bared his teeth in a brittle smile, “Nothing important.”

 

Luther only hesitated for a second as they rounded the corner only to find more agents in suits. He barreled on and the others followed in his wake, expecting a hail of bullets. 

It was not what they received.

 

Reginald lunged for Jack, fully prepared to use deadly force in order to get past.

She caught him in the chest and the room disappeared in a flash of blue.

It reformed in the shape of his living room and he stumbled past Jack on unsteady feet before whirling with an angry snarl.

She was gone before he could take a step toward her.

Reginald felt his helpless rage boil over into a scream.

 

Luther stumbled and crashed into the side table of one of the couches in the living room, sending the nicknacks that had occupied it scattering. It was barely a breath later that he heard a cacophony of thuds and grunts that signaled his siblings meeting similar fates.

Luther straightened with a grimace and turned to look at them.

Allison was leaning on a newly empty end table, pinching at the bridge of her nose. Diego was somewhere behind the couch Klaus was sprawled upside down on if the groans were anything to go by. Hazel looked relatively unphased by the bar. 

Luther frowned, “Ben? Ben!”

A groan behind him had his shoulders slumping in relief as he turned.

Ben moved his hand enough to glare up at Luther, “Is this always what time travel feels like?”

Luther huffed a laugh even as Klaus responded in the affirmative.

 

“Five, What’s going on?” Vanya asked with a worried frown.

His heart twisted painfully in his chest as he forced everything he had into an air of confidence, “They’ve agreed to leave you alone. I just need to do a few things first.”

Vanya narrowed her eyes in suspicion and he stepped closer to her, “Vanya, it’s going to be okay. They’re going to take you home. Dad and the others are already there.”

“What about you?” She asked.

Five offered her a half hearted smile, “I’ll make my own way.” He quickly pulled her into a tight hug before she could ask anymore questions, “Keep an eye on the others while I’m gone, okay?”

Vanya nodded and he pulled away, quickly looking to her escort so she wouldn’t see his face.

The woman from the sidewalk stepped forward and took his sister’s arm before they disappeared in a flash of blue.

Five sniffed and swiped a hand across his face, “Well? Let’s get this over with.”

The Handler cast him a sympathetic look, “You sure? If you need a minute, we have all the time in the world.”

Five choked on a laugh and blinked rapidly to clear the gummy feeling out of his eyes, “This isn’t really something I’d like to draw out.”

“Okay,” She agreed somberly and hit a button on her desk.

 

Vanya flinched as the blue cleared and she was immediately assaulted by the chaos of her siblings arguing. She backed away, winding up near Hazel and her father, as the others continued to shout unintelligibly. 

Hazel flashed her a pinched smile.

Beyond him, her father watched the rest of her siblings with a strange look in his eye she’d never seen before- at least not on  _ him. _ Five had worn that expression before she’d left, though he’d obviously been trying to hide it. It was almost… Sad, but that couldn’t be right. He just had a few things to take care of.

“Oh, you’re back,” Mom said with obvious relief then frowned, “Where’s Five?”

Dad cleared his throat and turned away from the group, striding past Mom like his legs couldn’t carry him fast enough, “Gone.”

Vanya frowned and looked over at Klaus expectantly but he only shrugged so she didn’t notice the way Luther’s shoulders slumped at their father’s words.

 

Five took a deep breath and let it out slowly as a faceless nurse tightened the padded restraints that pinned his arms at his sides. He repeated the action in an effort to avoid jumping off the table just to know he still could. He could still remember the last time he’d been strapped to a table like this and he was trying really hard not to think about it. 

It was starting to ruin his resolve. 

The straps around his ankles jerked tight and he flinched into the table.

A large calloused hand settled on one of his tightly clenched fists.

Five cracked one eye open to a sky blue gaze as electrodes were attached to his temples.

“Ready to begin the procedure,” A voice said from somewhere in the room.

The Handler flashed him the most brief flicker of a smile and stepped away.

A switch flipped and the electrodes sparked to life.

Five screamed as he felt the electricity slowly burn something inside him away. 

 

Hazel watched the siblings go back to planning for an impending attack despite their sister’s assurances that there wasn’t one coming.

A gentle touch on his arm drew his attention to Agnes, who’d come up to him at some point in the last few minutes without his notice.

He tugged her into a hug that she returned before pulling away to hand him the note Five had given her, “You need to read this.”

He nodded, taking it.

 

Five fought the weight seeping into his bones. The others were gone now. He needed to get back to them. They weren’t safe. He wanted to go home and see his family- maybe meet Claire if Allison still had her.

“Energy levels stable,” The voice said clinically, “Termination should be safe now.”

Five’s heart skipped a beat, though he didn’t quite know why anymore. Surely they’d killed him by now. He was both drifting and being assaulted by the sensation of cotton being shoved into his brain. 

“Do it,” Another voice said, closer, male. He didn’t bother looking. It didn’t matter, “I have a phone call to make.”

Five sucked in a breath and tried to look around the room despite the strap restraining his head. He barely felt the prick of a needle near his elbow but then he had other concerns. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. He felt the clawing urge to jump out of his restraints but he couldn’t twitch his fingers let alone use his powers.  

Through it all, his heart thundered away stubbornly in his ears. His chest ached before they injected liquid fire into his veins and by then he couldn’t move to scream.

“Don’t worry, Number Five,” Someone said softly. He caught a flicker of a blood-red smile through the burning before his heart sputtered and finally stopped.

“A deal’s a deal.”

 

Reginald closed his study door and locked it against the cacophony of voices on the other side. 

Reginald rested his forehead against the old wood with a weary sigh and let his shoulders slump. He couldn’t face them right now- not knowing just how badly he’d failed his children. Again. 

“What am I doing, Maeve?” He murmured to himself. He could not bare to entertain the idea that her ghost might have followed him here but talking to her was a bitter sweet balm all the same. 

The phone on his desk trilled harshly in the silence, startling him, and sending a shot of dread through his body.

Reginald took a shaky breath and crossed the room to pick up the phone, “Hargreeves.”

“Reginald,” Came the somber reply and his heart sank like lead, “It’s done.”

Reginald closed his eyes and pressed his lips into a firm line as he leaned against the edge of his desk. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to snatch up his briefcase and burn that blasted building to the ground, but it was gone, destroyed in the initial assault.

“Are you there?” Carmichael asked.

He straightened with gritted teeth, “Yes,” He snapped.

“You didn’t say anything,” The other man pointed out defensively.

Reginald seethed in rare anger, “Well, you’ll excuse me if I don’t  _ thank  _ you for  _ killing my son _ ,” He snarled as thunder rolled outside.

“It was his choice, Reginald,” Carmichael said softly, “You know it had to be done. You’re the one who wanted to save the world, not me.” 

God, Reginald hated him.

“I don’t  _ care.” _

“You always  _ were  _ a sentimental old fool,” Carmichael remarked bitterly.

Reginald slammed the phone down on the receiver and dropped into his chair. He set his elbows on his desk to put his face in his hands as tears rolled down his face for the first time in forty years.

A gust of wind sent raindrops pattering against his window and he straightened with fresh dread. Vanya.

He was up and across the room in an instant, wrenching the door open, to find an empty balcony hallway and the dimmed sounds of conversation in the living room. He crept up to the railing and let out a breath of relief at what he saw.

The children were having a civil discussion- or at least, they weren’t arguing outright. Allison had an arm around her sister and, while Vanya did appear to be upset, she was being taken care of.

Reginald sank back into the shadows and rested against the wall by his office door with a weary sigh. Of all the outcomes he had prepared for when first undertaking this mission, losing one of the kids had not been one that he had ever wished to dwell on.

“Are you going to tell them?”

Reginald opened his eyes to look over at Grace.

She appeared, for lack of a better word, somber, though he knew that would disappear in the face of the children- for their sake.

Reginald sighed again and looked back toward the living room, “No. Given the events of the past week, I think it’s better they have some hope. At least until Vanya has a better understanding of her powers.”

Grace nodded reluctantly and they stood together in the relative silence of the shadows.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions, comments, and concerns are welcome.  
> Thanks for reading.   
> I'd put a smiley face, but that seems kind of mean, so...


	23. The Day that Wasn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: The Day that Wasn't by Jeff Russo

Outside in the courtyard, Carmichael rubbed a thumb over the lid of the urn in his hands before he upended its contents beneath Reginald’s old oak tree. Seventeen years from now, these would have been Reginald’s ashes. Now…

Carmichael looked up at the third story window of the house where a blond woman in a dated black dress stared back with a pale blue fire in her eyes. His lips quirked upward as he stepped away from drifting pile of ashes. 

He didn’t have time to worry about malfunctioning nanny-bots. With the boy’s death, the Temps Aeternalis would have to figure out a new way trigger the apocalypse. There would be no pitting the Hargreeves against each other this time and with them banded together, Reginald’s crusade wouldn’t be the death of him.

Carmichael’s coms crackled to life and he stopped just outside the gates to the old mansion.

“Sir, we’ve had a breach in containment,” Dot called over the speaker, “You’d better get over here.”

Carmichael rolled his eyes and picked up his pace, “Have Jack retrieve it and leave it with our new retiree. Maybe we can still salvage this mess.”

He didn’t wait for her response before he disappeared in a flash of blue.

 

**File No. 509872098742**

 

Agent: Horace Carmichael

Comments: An agreement has been reached with former Agent, Number Five. As such, all contracts on the Hargreeves family are to be terminated indefinitely. Former Agent Hazel is to be allowed his retirement without a briefcase or further repercussions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in future works...

**Author's Note:**

> Books: Euclidean Quantum Gravity by GW Gibbons and SW Hawking Published 1993  
> A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain 1889


End file.
